Scars of Saigon
by ninja hampster
Summary: Vietnam brought all of them together, and tore them all apart. AU, rated for slight language, violence, darkness, alcohol references, and brief innuendo. IchigoXRukia, IchigoXTatsuki other parings implied to various degrees.
1. The Funeral

Scars of Saigon

by ninja hampster

Author's notes: this story is an AU, which means that the characters are set in a different time frame (after and during the Vietnam War)

Legal Mumbo Jumbo: Bleach and all related subjects and characters are property of Tite Kubo

Note on the text: No disrespect is intended to those who served in Vietnam, any similarities to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Though the author (me) has researched the subject at length it is possible that this story contains historical inaccuracies.

Enjoy

* * *

It was mid-morning and the sun shone down on the cemetary, its golden rays reflecting off the polished wooden surface of a coffin. The green grass was wafting in the gentle breeze. Gathered around the coffin were five people. 

One was a tall man, about thirty years old, with dark skin, dark hair, and an overall muscular physiqe. His face was slightly wrinkled and tears were coming from his brown eyes. He was dressed in a blue army dress uniform that was a little too small, around his neck was a chain holding what could only be described as a gold coin. on his left breast hung a weapons qualification cross and a distinguished service cross. His name was Chad Yasutora.

To the right of Chad, leaning heavily on a crutch was another man, his neck-long brown hair was combed and straightened. Signs of stress that were clearly visible on his white face made him look older than he really was. On the left breast of his slightly faded army dress uniform hung a qualification cross and a purple heart. The left pant leg of the dress uniform was sewed shut at the knee and it was obvious that this loss of limb was what earned him the medal. The man was known as Ganju Shiba.

To the right of Ganju, stood another man who looked slightly younger. Like the other men he was wearing in a slightly faded dress uniform, on his left breast hung a cross similar to Chad's, but the cross was smaller and flanked by laurels. His face was covered partially by his long, black hair and his rectangular glasses rested on the bridge of his nose. His name was Ishida Uryu.

Straight across from the three of them stood a man and a woman the man appeared to be in his lower-thirties and the woman looked to be in her upper-twenties. The woman was sobbing while the man took her in his arms. The man wore a blue army dress uniform which made his bright orange hair stand out. Like the other three men he had a qualification cross hanging on his left breast. Tears could be seen coming from his brown eyes. This man was Ichigo Kurosaki.

The woman he was holding had jet black hair, which perfectly matched the dress she wore. Tears were coming out of her deep blue eyes and flowing down her face and onto Ichigo's shirt as he gently held her in his arms. She was shorter than he was, and her slim form looked very delicate. Her name was Rukia Kurosaki.

As Ichigo held his wife tenderly in his arms; his thoughts drifted back, back to the terrible conflict that had brought them all together. Vietnam. Time could not cloud the memories that the drums of war had pounded into his head.

It all started fourteen years ago...


	2. Welcome to Vietnam

A few words from the author: I would like to say a big thank you to all who took time to read my story, and a bigger thanks to all who reviewed.

Author's notes: This is a flashback sequence describing Ichigo's first experiences in Vietnam, it also introduces some new characters.

Notes on the Text: Once again, no disrespect of any kind is intended toward those who served in Vietnam, I humbly apologize for any offence taken by any reader who served or knows someone who served in Vietnam. Though the author has researched the events described at length some Bleach-centered historical inaccuracies will exist.

Legal mumbo jumbo: Bleach and its characters are property of Tite Kubo.

Enjoy

November 20, 1967, 1600 local time; one mile southwest of a U.S. military outpost near Buon Ma Thout, Vietnam

A CH-47A "Chinook" transport helicopter had picked up its cargo from the airfield in Saigon and was heading towards its destination, its twin rotors spinning furiously. The inside of the helicopter was packed with all sorts of crates and supplies, with some of the supply boxes serving as crude benches for the eight passengers. Inside the tubular frame of the chopper the dull glow of the lights cast several shadows on everything and the late afternoon sun could be seen through the round windows. Ichigo and the six other passengers were coming in fresh out of basic training to reinforce an outpost near Buon Ma Thout, code named "Rukongai".

"Ichigo... ICHIGO!! WAKE UP!!"

Ichigo woke up from his dosing to see the face of Ishida, who was sitting next to him in the helicopter.

"Get your stuff together, we're two minutes away from our LZ (landing zone)"

Ichigo shook off the daze he was in and started to gather his belongings.

Ichigo, Ishida, and the other passengers had come out of the same boot camp and had become very familiar with each other during that time. Next to them sat Chad, who was contemplating the gold coin on his necklace, his standard issue combat uniform was slightly too large, even though Chad was considered large by most people. Next to him was a man named Renji Abarai; his hair (or what was left of it after the "buzz cuts" received by everyone who went through basic training) was a dark red, almost crimson. He was sitting there reading a book and looking very bored.

The other three passengers were seated in a circle on various supply crates playing poker.

"I'll bet two cigarettes and one stick of gum." said a bald headed soldier. His dog tags read Ikkaku Madarame, but everyone called him "cue-ball", which annoyed him during boot camp. He was also the best hand-to-hand fighter during basic.

"I'll see your bet and raise you another two cigarettes." said another who wore a green bandana over his brown "buzz cut", Ganju Shiba was his name.

"I fold." said the man sitting next to Ganju. The man had blond hair and a very skinny build with a bony face. His uniform, like Chad's, was slightly too large. His dog tags read Kira Izuru.

"Me too." Ikkaku said, throwing down his cards.

Ganju started to pick up his winnings while the rest of the men gathered their respective belongings. Thirty seconds later the chopper had landed in Rukongai, its twin rotors kicking up a small cloud of dust on the flattened dirt area that served as a crude helipad. The back of the chopper opened up and a tall man wearing a tiger stripe camouflaged "boonie hat" which matched his tiger stripe uniform, and he wore some black "flip-flops".

"Welcome to Vietnam." he said.


	3. Biohazard?

A few words from the author: I would like to say a big thank you to all who took time to read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed.

Author's notes: the next few chapters will be in a flashback sequence.

Notes on the Text: Once again, no disrespect of any kind is intended toward those who served in Vietnam or the Vietnamese in general, I humbly apologize for any offence taken by any reader who served or knows someone who served in Vietnam or is from that area. Though the author has researched the events described at length some Bleach-centered historical inaccuracies will exist. Feel free to do your own research if you think I made any grossly inaccurate mistakes.

Legal mumbo jumbo: Bleach and its characters are property of Tite Kubo.

Enjoy

* * *

"My name is Kisuke Urahara, but call me "Sandal-hat"." The man continued. "I'm your commander. First order: unload the chopper; if you have any questions about where anything goes don't be afraid to ask. When you're done with that get some chow and meet me in that building over there." He pointed to a building on the far end of the compound near the entrance. 

The whole outpost was about the size of a standard city block, 900 feet long and 264 feet wide. The base perimeter was surrounded by a five foot high wall of sandbags with concertina wire coiled along the outside. The entrance was at the south end of the base, it consisted of a gate made out of fencing and barbed wire and was flanked by two crude sandbag pillboxes there were also crude pillboxes on each of the corners of the sandbag wall. The helipads were at the far end of the base away from the entrance and there were two rows of six buildings along both sides of the base. The American flag was waving on its post at the center of the base. The buildings could only be described as giant green metal half-cylinders with doors on both ends.

Everyone, except Chad (who picked up several containers at a time) made a line and started handing crates to one another and stacking them in a pile nearby. Once the chopper was empty it took off, leaving a large cloud of dust.

Everyone then proceeded to take the supplies to their respective destinations; except for the ones that were strangely marked with a bio-hazard symbol.

"Hey, Sandal-hat," Renji motioned in Urahara's direction. "I got a bunch of crates marked bio-hazard where do they go?"

"Mess hall, third building on your right", Urahara indicated with his finger.

"Why do they have a bio-hazard label?" Renji asked.

"Because the person who labels those things is a smartass", Urahara responded.

When they had finished putting the supplies in their respective areas they lined up shoulder to shoulder inside the building indicated by Urahara. The windowless building was filled with tables and chairs arranged into rows with a chalkboard on the end of the building. The building was lit by hanging electric bulbs that cast dim shadows all around.

Urahara came through the door and motioned for everyone to have a seat in the row closest to the front. He then got up to the chalkboard and started speaking.

"Welcome to the Rukongai briefing room everyone. Did you all enjoy your trip?"

"Sir, yes sir", responded the seven young men.

"Alright, now I want you to go down the row and tell me your name and combat specialization."

"Ichigo Kurosaki, support gunner."

"Ganju Shiba, combat engineer and sub-machine gunner"

"Kira Izuru, rifleman"

"Ishida Uryu, marksman"

"Ikkaku Madarame; you can call me cue ball, rifleman, close range and hand-to-hand specialist"

"Chad Yasutora, grenadier"

"Renji Abarai, rifleman"

"Okay, now that we have the formalities out of the way it's time for you boys to learn how to fight."

"Permission to speak freely sir?" Renji asked.

"Go ahead", Urahara said.

"We already know how to fight; we just got out of basic." Renji said.

"I know; but here in 'Nam Charley doesn't bend over and let you shoot him up the arse the way those targets did in basic." Urahara said. "First of all, how many of you like your uniforms?" Nobody raised their hands. "Good because they'll rot and fall off in a few months. When that happens you can either get a new one that will do the same thing after a few more months, or you can spend two weeks pay and get a custom fit outfit like mine from mama-san."

"Next thing: how many of you are proficient with the M-16?" Everyone raised their hands. "Well, guess what? We won't be using them out in the field."

"Why not?" asked Kira.

"Because A.) they don't have a very powerful cartridge and B.) they have a tendancy to jam up whenever you get into deep shit; I've lost too many men because they couldn't shoot back with that piece of junk. So I'm giving you a choice." He said as he pulled out two distict looking weapons from a nearby crate; one looked like an old M1 Garand, but it had a shorter wooden grip and a box magazine sticking out the bottom, the second weapon he pulled out was an AK-47, which everyone had learned about in basic.

"This", he said as he held up the first weapon. "is the M-14 it fires 7.62 x 51mm fullmetal jacket NATO rounds, capable of stopping any VC in their tracks, unlike the M-16 this will not break down as easily." He set the weapon down and picked up the AK, "This is the AK-47, the weapon that most Charlies use, it fires 7.62 x 39mm Kurz rounds. It's tough, reliable, powerful, and easy to handle. Whenever we go into the field you will use one of these weapons, unless you show me a suitable substitute."

Urahara looked at his watch and said, "Oops, sorry everyone, it's lights out right now. Get yourselves to bed and report back at the helipad at 0900 fully dressed and equipped. Dismissed."


	4. Mad scientists and Logistical nightmares

A few words from the author: I would like to say a big thank you to all who took time to read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed.

Author's notes: the next few chapters will be in a flashback sequence.

Notes on the Text: Once again, no disrespect of any kind is intended toward those who served in Vietnam or the Vietnamese in general, I humbly apologize for any offence taken by any reader who served or knows someone who served in Vietnam or is Vietnamese. Though the author has researched the events described at length some Bleach-centered historical inaccuracies will exist. Feel free to do your own research if you think I made any grossly inaccurate mistakes.

Legal mumbo jumbo: Bleach and its characters are property of Tite Kubo.

Enjoy

* * *

November 21, 1967, 0600 local time; "Rukongai" outpost, Boun Ma Thout, Vietnam 

Ichigo and the rest of his squad got out of their bunks and started getting ready. They dressed themselves in their uniforms and headed to the mess hall.

The mess hall was situated between the briefing room and the infirmary. The mess hall was filled with long tables with benches attached to them. At the far end there was the kitchen and the serving area. The cook Mayuri Kurotsuchi stood behind the counter, which held three pots of steaming liquid, a tray of yellow stuff, a tray of something that Ichigo couldn't identify, and assorted condiments.

Mayuri was wearing a white chef uniform, a wierd white hat, and had yellow eyes; which unnerved Ichigo slightly.

Everyone got a metal tray and lined up Ichigo was situated behind Urahara and in front of Chad.

"I wonder what the mad scientist has cooked up for us today?" Urahara said to no one in particular.

"Mad scientist?", Ichigo asked looking slightly confused.

"Mayuri, the cook", Urahara responded.

"Why do you call him mad scientist?" Ichigo asked.

"Because only some ungodly form of science would be able create the food he serves." Urahara said. (Though to be fair most of the food he served came that way)

"Pick your poison", Mayuri said as Ichigo made his way to the counter. "We have SOS, chipped beef, cream of wheat, pork and beans, government cheese, and scrambled eggs."

"I'll... have the... umm... SOS please." Ichigo said as he tried to decide if any of the food before him looked even remotely like what Mayuri had described. Mayuri put a piece of toast on Ichigo's tray and dumped a big spoon of "chipped beef" on to it.

Ichigo took his meal and sat down with Ganju, and Ishida; who were both looking at their food like it was some kind of alien lifeform, Renji was poking it like it was some kind of dead animal. Ichigo took a bite of his "food" and found that it had no taste whatsoever; according to Ganju, Ishida, and later Chad all the food was bland and tasteless.

After breakfast they headed back to the barracks to get their personal equipment before heading to the armory to pick up their weapons.

The armory was situated on the other side of the infirmary and was surrounded by sandbags, "NO SMOKING" signs were put up all over the building. The inside of the armory had four gun racks, one on each wall and two in the center facing the walls. The gun racks went about half way through the building, the rest of the building was piled high with ammo crates. The whole thing was a logistical nightmare, there were so many different kinds of weapons and ammo. One side of the building the racks contained rifles, specifically: M-21's, M-14's, M-16's, AK-47's, and even a few M-1 carbines. The other side contained assorted other weapons like: M-1911's, M-60's, M-1919's, M-12's, M-79's, there were even a few Thompsons and Grease guns.

Ichigo picked up an M-60 GPMG and started digging through the crates looking for ammo. Ishida picked up an M-21 (which was really just a modified M-14) and started looking it over. Kira chose the AK-47, due to its compactness. Chad picked up an M-79 grenade launcher and an M-1 carbine. Renji didn't like the idea of using a commie gun, so he took an M-14. Ikkaku chose the M-14 as well because it would make a better melee weapon than the AK. Ganju picked up one of the Thompsons claiming that it would be easier to use because it took the same ammo as his pistol, which ment he only needed to carry one type of ammo.

After picking up their weapons and gathering sufficient ammunition, they made their way back to the helipads and formed up near Urahara. They were all dressed in standard battle gear, more or less. Ichigo, Chad, and Urahara were the only ones who really stood out.

Ichigo had a belt of ammo strung around his helmet and had boxes of ammunition strapped on his backpack, which contained food, rain gear, extra socks, and other importaint items. The M-60 required so much ammo that everyone had to help carry it. He had a sheathed knife strapped to his left ankle, above his jungle boots. He carried his M-1911A1 pistol in a holster on his right hip, which was situated on a belt with various other equipment.

Chad was dressed in a similar fashion, only he did not have the belts of ammunition on his helmet. Instead he had the phrase "Amore e Morte" written on the front of his helmet in black ink. He carried his grenade launcher and carbine on straps over both of his shoulders. usually grenadiers only carried a pistol due to the weight of the grenade launchers, but Chad didn't mind the small rifle's extra weight.

Urahara wore his tiger stripe uniform and jungle boots. He carried an M-12 shotgun on a strap over his right shoulder. His entire belt was covered with shells, he carried a Ruger "Blackhawk" .44 magnum revolver in a holster that was strapped to his left shoulder. He wore a helmet that had "Si vis pacem, para bellum" written on it in black ink

Urahara adressed his squad, "Today all of you will get a taste of battle...

* * *

SOS: noun, military acronym for Shit On a Shingle, a common military breakfast dish usually consisting of chipped beef (though sometimes it was hard to tell what exactly it was) on toast. 

Amore e morte: Italian for "love and death"

Si vis pacem, para bellum: Latin for "if you seek peace, prepare for war"


	5. Baptism by Fire

A few words from the author: Sorry about the late update. I would like to say a big thank you to all who took time to read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed.

Notes on the Text: I realize that this chapter is very unrealistic, but I wanted to submit it in order to move on, hopefully my next one is better.

Legal mumbo jumbo: Bleach and its characters are property of Tite Kubo.

Enjoy

* * *

The base's helipads were four crude squares of packed earth. There were two UH-1 "Hueys" parked on the first two pads. Next to them was an AH-1 Cobra, which was mostly used for base defense. The last pad was empty, it was the place where Ichigo and his squad had landed the day before. 

"Last night we recieved confirmation of a small enemy supply cache fourty miles northeast of here. So your first mission is to find the supplies and destroy them." Urahara said as he pulled out a map. "We will land here," he indicated the area with his finger. "and proceed north to the cache. We will have air support compliments of the Seireitei airfield, which is about fifteen miles north of our current location." He said pointing to the north.

Urahara led his men to the first Huey, which was already fuled and manned by the pilots and door gunner. The pilots looked to be in their early twenties, their names were Kiyone Kotetsu and Kotsubaki Sentaro. Kiyone's flight helmet covered her short strawberry blonde hair, her flight suit was slightly loose on her small form and her blue eyes focused intently on the controls of the chopper. Kotsubaki's helmet covered his brown hair, he had a small goatee on his chin and thick eyebrows. The door gunner was a huge man with thin rectangular glasses and a well groomed brown mustache. His uniform said Tessai, but most people called him "doorman".

They piled into the chopper and sat down, the Huey left the ground and started the journey. They were soon joined by a Cobra from Seireitei, which escorted them to the LZ.

The LZ was an area about sixty square feet, it had grass that was four feet tall. To the north they could see the edge of a thick tropical jungle.

"Lock and load people!" Urahara ordered as he jumped from the Huey. Ichigo inserted a belt of ammunition into his M-60 and jumped out, followed by Kira, Ikkaku, Ishida, and the rest of the squad. Urahara made a hand sign to crouch and move forward into the forest. They moved slowly through the tall grass toward the thick jungle.

As soon as the last person had entered the safety of the jungle, Urahara ordered them to continue northward quietly in a wedge-shaped pattern. Urahara was at the front, flanked by Kira on the left and Ganju on the right. Ichigo, Ishida and Renji followed on the left while Chad and Ikkaku followed on the right.

They quietly advanced forward through the jungle for about an hour until they could see a small clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a thached hut surrounded by crates camoflaged with foliage. The hut was surrounded by six people, three of them were wearing tigerstripe camoflage outfits, two of them were wearing conical straw hats ("chinese hats") with civilian clothes, and the last one wore a green canvas uniform and a pith helmet. All of them were armed with AK-type weapons and apparently oblivious to the Americans that were crouching in the bushes.

Urahara motioned for Ishida to come, he then indicated his forehead with his finger and pointed to the man wearing the pith helmet.

Ishida raised his rifle and peered through the scope. He could see the man clearly in his sights, he steadied his arms. As his finger started to squeeze the trigger, the man looked square at him. The man's eyes widened in alarm; but before he could alert the others the crack of Ishida's gun went off and a red mist erupted from the back of his head, his limp body fell against the wall of the hut.

"NOW!" Urahara yelled. Soon the air was filled with the sound of gunfire as the five remaining sentries were gunned down.

"Ichigo, Ishida, cover the door." Urahara ordered. "The rest of you, follow me." They made their way to the hut and stood up against the wall. Urahara ordered Ganju in first.

Ganju ran inside and found that the building was empty, except for a few crude beds, boxes of ammo, a weapon or two, and a firepit in the center. Chad and Ikkaku followed him and confirmed that the building was clear.

"Ishida, Ichigo, get your zippos out." ordered Urahara, "Ganju, get some C4 on those crates. Cueball, you and Chad take these bodies inside the hut. Renji, get on the radio and call for evac."

The men did as they were told and in a few hours the supply depot was nothing but embers and they were back on the Huey heading home.


	6. Holiday R & R

A few words from the author: I would like to say a big thank you to all who took time to read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed.

Notes on the Text: This could be considered a filler episode, mostly humor, but I had fun writing it. **WARNING: THIS STORY PROBABLY PUSHES THE ENVELOPE ON THE "T" RATING,** Fullmetal Jacket "hooker schene" refrences (if you haven't seen Fullmetal Jacket, you should, it's a good movie), very strange foods, and slight Urahara randomness (though Urahara is a very random type of person, no?).

Legal mumbo jumbo: Bleach, MAD magazine, Fullmetal Jacket and their characters are the property of their respective owners.

Enjoy

* * *

December 31, 1967, 1500 local time; "Rukongai" outpost, Boun Ma Thout, Vietnam

Ichigo and his squad had been in Vietnam for over a month now. During that time they had gone on several patrols in the vicinity of Rukongai and Seireitei and a few search and destroy missions against both the VC (Viet Cong guerrillas) and the PAVN (People's Army of Vietnam, North Vietnamese regular army). They had accomplished most of these missions more or less unscathed; Kira, Ikkaku, and Urahara took a few bullets, but nothing big enough to get sent home.

They were all (except for Urahara) in their bunkhouse, which was situated across from the briefing room. Like the other buildings in the compound, the place was illuminated by hanging electric bulbs. There were eight sets of bunk beds lined up along the walls. In the center there were also two circular tables surrounded by chairs. Ichigo was sleeping on the bottom of the first bunk, his face was covered by an old issue of MAD magazine. Ganju was sitting on the top of the second bunk writing a letter. Ishida was sitting at one of the tables cleaning his rifle. Ikkaku, Kira, Chad, and Renji were playing poker on the other table. Kira and Chad were sitting next to eachother dressed in the tiger-stripe uniforms that they got as a Christmas present from Urahara, who said that they needed uniforms that fit. Renji was sitting next to Chad, a lit cigarette protruded from his mouth. Ikkaku sat between Kira and Renji, intently focused on his cards.

"I'll bet two sticks of gum." Kira said, putting two foil-wrapped rectangles into the middle of the table.

"I call." said Chad.

"I see your bet and raise you a cigarette." said Renji, putting in his two sticks plus a cigarette.

"I call." Ikkaku said.

"I fold." Kira said, throwing down his cards.

"I call." said Chad.

"I got a pair of kings" Renji said, showing his hand.

"Three jacks" Chad said.

"Four deuces" Ikkaku said, showing his hand and started gathering his winnings.

Ikkaku had picked up about half of his winnings when Urahara burst through the door shouting "HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Renji said. "It's only 3:05."

"It has to be midnight somewhere." Urahara said. "Anyways, I just thought I would celebrate and take you all out for a little I & I."

"I & I?" Kira asked.

"Intoxication and Interc... " His voice trailed off, "erm... what I ment to say was... er... R & R... yeah, that's it."

"Sure, why not?" Ichigo said as he stretched and got out of bed.

* * *

December 31, 1967; 1520 local time; Boun Ma Thout, Vietnam

The afternoon sun was shining down from high in the sky when Ichigo and company arrived. The roads to the city were mostly dirt and it was a rather bumpy ten minute ride in their truck. The back of the truck was covered in a green canvas held up by metal arches, two benches were situated along the sides of the bed. Urahara was driving and Ishida was riding shotgun. Ichigo was sitting on one side of the bed next to Ganju and Tessai (who came along to show them his favorite resturant and to act as designated driver in the very likely event of Urahara getting too drunk to drive). Across from them sat Chad, Ikkaku, and Renji.

They all got off of the truck and followed Tessai (except for Urahara, who made a beeline to the closest bar) to a small concrete building at the far corner of the block they were on. The building was surrounded by chairs and tables. The resturant itself had no indoor seating, there was merely a window from which someone could order food. Standing behind the window was a young girl who appeared to be in her late teenage years. She was pleasantly slim and her orange hair was held back by two hair clips.

Tessai walked up to the window and said, "How's it going, Orihime?"

"Pretty well, I have new dish, want to try?" The girl responded. "It pickled snake sauteed with onions, served over bean paste."

"Sounds good, I'll get one of those and the usual."

"Coming right up." Orihime said.

A few minutes later she came to the window holding a tray with a plate and a bowl. The plate had about thirty thin pieces of brown meat that were still sizzling on a mound of bean paste. The bowl had pieces of leek floating around the tapioca and had red spices sprinkled liberally on the top. Tessai brought it to the table and began eating the soup. Everyone else just stared at the food with a mixture of bewilderment, disgust, and curiosity on each of their faces.

"What the hell is that?" Ganju asked.

"How on God's green Earth is that edible?" Ikkaku said.

"Not even Mad Scientist would create something that crazy." Renji said.

"I'll give twenty bucks to whoever eats one of those." Kira said, indicating one of the pickled snake pieces.

"I'll do it," Ichigo said. "but you have to show me the money before I eat it."

Kira produced a twenty dollar bill from his pocket and set it on the table. Ichigo picked up one of the pieces of meat and put it into his mouth. A puzzled look appeared on his face as he chewed it and swallowed.

"So, what did it taste like?" Ikkaku asked.

"Chicken", Ichigo responded.

"Chicken?!" they said, astonished.

"Chicken."

"Chicken?" they asked again, not being able to believe it.

"Chicken."

"Chicken??"

"For the last time... yes, it tasted like chicken!" Ichigo shouted. "If you don't believe me, try it yourself."

After that no one else tried it; except for Tessai, who said it tasted like pork dipped in fish paste.

As Ichigo was picking up the money, they were all approached by a woman. She wore a black low cut dress that hugged her curvacious form. Her maroon hair was put up in a bun with chopsticks in the back. She had yellow eyes, which stood out against her dark skin. It was clear by how she walked that she was a member of one of the oldest professions in the world (in less poetic terms, a prostitute).

"Hey baby" she said to them as she leaned on the table, revealing parts of herself only two of the men really wanted to see. "you got girlfriend in Vietnam?"

"Not just this minute." Ikkaku said, surveying the woman.

"Well baby, me so horney, me love you loooong time." she purred seductively. "You party?"

"Yeah we might party." Ikkaku said.

"How much?" Kira said.

"Sixty dollar", she said.

"Sixty dollar for both of us?" Ikkaku said, indicating Kira, the only other person interested.

"No, each you sixty dollar. Me love you long time. Me so horney."

"Sixty dollar too boo-koo, five dollars each", Ikkaku said.

The woman slapped him so hard that he fell to the ground with a red hand-shaped mark on his face. "I was giving you discount because you friend of Urahara." As she was saying that Urahara walked up to the woman's side and put his arm around her waist.

"Hey baby, you got boyfriend in Vietnam?" he said to her...

* * *

Expect update by Tet


	7. Night Attack: A Farewell To Arms

A few words from the author: Updated ahead of schedule, unfortunately I might not be able to update as frequently due to restricted computer access. I would like to say a big thank you to all who took time to read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed.

Notes on the text: Descriptions are a little graphic, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Reference to Apocalypse Now (if you haven't seen this movie you should, it's a really good movie). Any resebleance to any persons live or dead is purely coincidental.

Legal mumbo jumbo: I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would issue a public statement saying that everybody who wrote Bleach fanfics would never have to write these stupid disclaimers again. I also don't own the rights to Apocalypse Now, I do however own "Apocalypse Now" and "Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier" on DVD.

* * *

January 31, 1968; 0354 local time, Rukongai outpost Boun Ma Thout, Vietnam 

Tet, 1968, the year of the monkey. Fireworks from the nearby town occasionally lit up in the night sky. Ichigo and company were all sleeping in their respective bunks. Moths were fluttering around the lamps which illuminated much of the outside. A lone sentry lit a cigarette as he paced along the inside of the northern sandbag wall. The schene was peaceful . . . for now at least.

The men were awakened from their slumber by a loud explosion followed by a loud alarm.Ganju peered out the front door and saw the flaming wreckage of the base's AH-1 Cobra gunship. He heard the distictive sound of AK's going off and knew what was happening, they were being attacked!

Ganju turned on the lights and started yelling, "We're under attack!" as more explosions rocked the small outpost. Everyone shook the sleep from their eyes and wasted no time before getting ready. Ichigo put a belt of ammo into his M-60 and draped several more belts all over his body. Urahara grabbed his shotgun, bandolier, and revolver. Ikkaku put the bayonet on his M-14 while Ishida wiped the dust off of his scope. Chad, Renji, and Kira picked up their respective weapons and followed Urahara out the door.

Both of the Hueys and the Cobra were destroyed, the fuel depot was in flames, and there were enemy soldiers climbing over the wall. All around there were people running out of the barracks and armory toward the north wall and people carrying the dead and wounded to the infirmary. The air was filled with the sounds of fighting.

"Kira, Renji, Chad! get your asses over to the armory, grab two machine guns and set one up over there!" Urahara said, pointing to the a crude defensive position built close to the helipads. "Ichigo, Ishida! Cover them! Cueball, Ganju! You're with me! Go! Go! Go!"

They split up, Ichigo and Ishida making sure that the five of them got there safely. Kira and Renji each picked up an M-1919, Chad picked up several boxes of ammo and a tripod. They set it up on a pile of crates and Kira started firing at the advancing enemy.

Urahara was sitting behind a sandbag wall near them. He was talking on the radio with Seireitei, trying to get some air support. "Yama-san, this is Sandal-hat, we are under heavy attack, request air support." Urahara said into the radio.

A voice crackled over the radio. "Negative on the air support Sandal-hat, all the available men are pinned down in our own firefight right now."

"God dammit!" Urahara said.

Kira had been firing for some time when the barrel of the gun started to smoke. "What's going on?" he asked.

"It's getting too hot, swap that gun for this one!" said Ichigo, indicating the second machinegun that was brought.

Kira did as he was told and kept fighting, but the enemy was gaining ground rapidly.

It had been an hour and the enemy was showing no sign of retreating, the position near the helipads was in danger being overrun. "Yama-san, this is Sandal-hat, we are under heavy attack. WE NEED AIR SUPPORT NOW, GOD DAMMIT!!!" Urahara shouted the into radio.

A voice crackled over the radio: "That's a rodger on the air support Sandal-hat, we'll send Flyboy and as many choppers as we can spare, listen for the music, estimated time to arrival 30 minutes." The enemy was now so close that everyone had to affix bayonets, some had gotten over the crude defensive position and were fighting hand-to-hand.

Ikkaku was grappling with one enemy, who had grabbed onto his M-14. He headbutted the soldier with his helmet, smashing through the enemy's pith helmet and causing him to weaken the grip on the rifle. Ikkaku seized the oppertunity and wrenched the gun from his opponents hands, he quickly bashed the enemy soldier in the head before finishing him off with his bayonet. He had little time to enjoy his victory. Because just seconds after dispatching the enemy he was hit multiple times in his left shoulder. He hit the ground, his cries for help were heard by Kira and Ganju. They did their best to get him to the infirmary; but Kira accidentally pulled too hard on Ikkaku's arm while trying to get him on the stretcher and the few tendons that were keeping his arm attached snapped. The appendage fell to the ground, splintered white bone could be seen sticking out of the bloody stump from Ikkaku's shoulder.

After what seemed like hours, they heard a sound. None of them could identify it. Then Urahara recognised the sound; it was a song, a classical song. It was "Ride of the Valkyries" by Wagner. Minutes later they could see three Cobras and four Hueys coming over the horizon.

"The cavalry's here!!" shouted Urahara. "Pop some flares, show 'em where the enemy is." The men did as they were told, and bright red flares lit up the night sky. The choppers opened fire, rockets spewed from the pods on the sides of the helicopters sending enemy soldiers flying through the air. The Hueys flew around the enemy, driving into the Cobra's sights like lambs to the slaughter. The survivors made a break for the jungle, carrying a few of the wounded with them.

The dawn came, the morning light fell on a schene of carnage. Contorted bodies lay strewn all over the ground. Blood was everywhere, nobody managed to come out of the battle without getting some on themselves. Ichigo was sitting on a crate with his helmet on the ground and his face in his hands. His arms were covered in a mix of blackness from his gun, and blood. He was surrounded by empty shell casings, half-empty ammo boxes, and completely empty ammo boxes. In front of their position lay at least ninety dead enemy soldiers. They had gotten so close to their position that he could read the serial numbers on their weapons. Renji sat next to him looking down at the ground. He took off his helmet and pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, he offered one to Kira and Urahara before lighting up his own. Urahara sat across from Renji on another crate his blond hair was even more disheveled than usual, his bandolier was half-empty and his face and chest were covered in blood, both ends of his shotgun had blood on them. Chad was sitting on Ichigo's other side, tears could be seen coming down his face.

Urahara broke the awkward silence saying, "Thank God for Flyboy and Yama-san."

"Who are they?" Renji asked.

"Yama-san or Mr. Yamamoto, is the commanding officer of Seireitei. He fought in the Purple Heart Division during World War II. Flyboy is one of his best pilots, he used to drive a Med-Evac helicopter during Korea." Urahara explained.

After Urahara finished his cigarette, he ordered everyone to start cleaning up the bodies. All the able bodied members of Ichigo's squad and about thirty of the remaining survivors dug a giant hole seventy feet outside the eastern wall. The hole was fourty feet long, ten feet wide, and six feet deep. They dragged the enemy bodies toward the hole and unceremoniously threw them into it. It was a dangerous task, on several occasions the ones who were not dead would attempt to kill them with grenades hidden under their bodies. It was also a gruesome task; sometimes the limb that they were dragging the corpse by would detatch, when that happened they left the limb and kept going. The schene was so horrific that there were very few people who did not loose their lunches.

The noonday sun was high over the sky when they had finished cleaning the bodies, twenty body-bags were lined up along the recently cleared helipad, waiting to be sent home. Most of the men had gone to sleep, after taking a good long shower and changing into fresh clothes. Ichigo found it hard to close his eyes, whenever he did he would see the faces of the men who died staring back at him. Eventually he drifted off into restless sleep...

* * *

Purple Heart Division: 442nd Regimental Combat Team, comprised of Japanese Americans, it got its nickname from the 9,486 purple hearts earned during World War II. 


	8. New Places and Faces

A few words from the author: I would like to say a big thank you to all who took time to read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed.

Notes on the text: The first part of this chapter is very dark, descriptions get slightly graphic: CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED. Cameo appearence by Hollow Ichigo. Introduction to new characer, replacement for Ikkaku. Any resebleance to any persons live or dead is purely coincidental.

Legal mumbo jumbo: I don't own Bleach

* * *

All that remained of the jungle were smouldering ashes and craters, the black skeletons of trees dotted the landscape. The air was permeated by the thick gasoline smell of napalm and the heavy smell of gunpowder. Ichigo led his squad through the ashes on their mission. A voice in his head repeated the order they had been given...

Leave no survivors...

They walked among what was left the jungle in a V-shaped pattern. Bodies littered the ground, some charred beyond recogniton and others horribly mangled by explosions. In the distance Ichigo saw a small patch of jungle, one that had been untouched by either napalm or artillery. He led his squad up to it and ordered his men to stay back and cover him as he entered the island of greenery.

Leave no survivors...

He walked slowly through the underbrush alone, looking for any sign of human life. It was quiet... too quiet...

Leave no survivors... the voice kept repeating the phrase over and over again.

He heard a rustling in the bushes a few feet to his left, he jumped, closed his eyes, and started firing randomly into the bushes. A man sprang up with his hands in the air. He was about fourty years old, his black hair was slightly messy. He was shaking with fear as he tried to explain that he was not an enemy. Ichigo opened his eyes and pointed the gun at him...

"Leave no survivors..." he said grinning like a madman. Ichigo's eyes had changed; the whites of his eyes had turned black, his irises turned a dark shade of yellow. He let out a maniacal laugh as he mercilessly gunned the man down.

"BROTHER!", a voice from the bushes shouted. A girl, not much younger than Ichigo ran from the bushes and knelt over the bullet-riddled corpse. She had black hair that was slightly messy, like her brother. She looked up at him, tears streaming from her deep blue eyes. "Why?" she asked.

Ichigo raised the gun at her and with a cruel smirk said, "Leave no survivors..."

He squeezed the trigger...

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Febuary 1, 1968, 0700 local time, Rukongai outpost, Boun Ma Thout, Vietnam

Ichigo woke up in a cold sweat, it was just a dream.

He got dressed and headed over to the mess hall for some chow. He picked up some SOS and sat down at a table. He had no appetite, his thoughts drifted to the meeting yesterday. His squad was being transferred to Saigon. Saigon had been hit hard, the US embassy had been attacked by suicide squads. There were also plenty of enemy troops in the city that needed to be taken out. They were also getting a replacement for Ikkaku, who died from his wounds last night. The replacement was coming fresh of the boat from Nha Trang, along with a new squad to replace the dead and to substitute for Ichigo's squad here at Rukongai.

Ichigo finished his breakfast and went back to the bunkhouse to pack up. Everyone else was packing up as well. Renji was packing the sovenir he picked up from last night, a Tokarev pistol. Ishida, Chad, Ganju and Kira were sitting at one of the tables passing the time playing poker. Urahara was sitting on his bed, reading a book. They had a few hours to burn before the Chinook came in with the replacements, their Huey would be leaving after lunch.

The Chinook landed and fifteen men who looked to be in their early twenties with duffel bags slung over their shoulders exited. They were followed by a man in his early twenties who wore a new tiger-stripe uniform. He had an M-16 strapped to his back and a Browning Hi-Power holstered on his left hip. His white hair stuck out from under his helmet, a lit cigarette hung from his smiling mouth.

"Ah, you must be Mr. Ichimaru." Urahara said, greeting the man.

"Gin Ichimaru at ya' service, sir." The man responded.

"Welcome, I'm Urahara; but call me sandalhat. This is Ichigo." he said pointing to Ichigo. "That's Renji, Kira, Chad, and Ganju." he said, indicating each man respectively. "And that's Ishida."

The replacement Huey was next to the Chinook, Kiyone and Kotsubaki had it up and running and Tessai was on the doorgun. Ichigo entered the waiting Huey, threw his duffle in a pile and sat on his helmet. Everyone else sat on their helmets too, except Gin, who looked at what they were doing with a confused expression on his face. Ichigo and Renji both caught a glimpse of Gin's confused expression and exchanged smirks, they knew what was coming next.

"Why do y'all sit on ya' helmets?" he asked.

"So we don't get our balls blown off." Renji casually responded.

Gin started laughing, "'that's th' mos' ridiculous thing I ever heard." Then when nobody was looking; Gin took his helmet off and positioned it comfortably underneath himself, making sure that certain parts of him that he held most dear had plenty of protection.

After everyone had situated themselves, the Huey took off. Ichigo watched as the place he had called home for the past three months faded into the distance.

* * *

The beginning of this story was supposed to show just how much the fighting has affected Ichigo. The two people he killed in his dream are ment to be certain people, but I won't tell who. I will say that you haven't seen the last of them. 


	9. Going Down Hard

A few words from the author: Thank you to all who read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed it.

Notes on the text: This chapter is very short, but very importaint. The author means no disrespect to anyone who fought in Vietnam, or the Vietnamese in general. Though the author has researched the topics mentioned at length there may be a few Huey-related implausabilities.

Legal mumbo jumbo: Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo.

* * *

Febuary 1, 1968, 1705 local time, 100 miles northeast of Saigon, Vietnam 

Ichigo looked out of the side of the Huey, toward the jungle below. The trees in the jungle below wafted in the slight breeze created by the helicopter. He was feeling depressed, the events of that horrible night still weighed heavily on his heart. His memories went back to when he first met Ikkaku, it seemed like just yesterday Ikkaku was yelling at him for calling him "cueball" for the upteenth time during bootcamp. Ichigo smiled weakly as he remembered when Ikkaku went toe-to-toe with the Sergant, needless to say the Sergant handed Ikkaku his ass on a silver platter.

Ichigo looked up from his window and observed his comrades. Kira and Renji were sitting beside him resting their eyes. Urahara was getting to know Gin. Chad and Ganju were talking about what they were going to do when they got back home. He leaned back and fell asleep, listening to the rythmic sound of the helicopter.

Everything seemed to be going normal, they were now about fifty miles from their destination when the unthinkable happened. The familar "whump whump" of the Huey's blades was interrupted by the all too familiar sound of AK's going off. The bullets could be heard ricoceting off the underside of the helicopter. Tessai cried out in pain as several bullets pierced his skin...

"Doorman's hit, someone get on that '60!" Urahara said. Urahara and Gin dragged Tessai into the chopper and did what they could to bandage him up. Ichigo got onto the doorgun and started firing randomly into the jungle.

"Saigon, this is Bonnie and Clyde, come in Saigon! We are taking fire!" Kiyone spoke into the radio, while Kotsubaki wrestled with the controls.

Kotsubaki's eyes went wide as he saw what was coming up from the ground. "RPG!" he shouted, "I'm taking evasive action, hang on!" He pulled the controls and made a barrel roll to the right. Half way through the manuver they heard a scream. Renji looked out just in time to see Ichigo plummeting toward the ground below, the doorgun had broken off of its mount and was dangling by the ammo belt.

"Ichigo!" Renji shouted, as the damaged Huey limped to Saigon. There was nothing they could do to help him, they didn't want to fire for fear of hitting Ichigo and they couldn't risk getting hit by another RPG.

Time seemed to slow down for Ichigo as he fell. He saw the trees getting closer. The leaves of the canopy scratched his body, but also slowed him down somewhat. Pain shot through his left arm as it hit a branch. His right leg came down hard on another limb, sending several waves of pain through his body. He hit the undergrowth, which cushened the fall slightly.

He knew he had to find shelter, if the VC's found him they would kill him.

Ichigo grunted weakly and tried to move his arms... nothing.

He tried moving his legs... nothing.

The world was starting to get dark... Was it nightime already?

The world was getting darker and darker...

Finally, all Ichigo saw was black...

* * *

In this context " '60" is short for M-60 machinegun 

RPG: stands for Rocket Propelled Grenade


	10. A Farewell to Friends

A few words from the author: Thank you to all who read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed it. 

Notes on the text: The author means no disrespect to anyone who fought in Vietnam, or the Vietnamese in general. Though the author has researched the topics mentioned at length there may be improbabilities related to military justice.

If they want to sue me for writing this fic I will exercise my rights as an American citizen, first I will claim sanctuary behind my 1st ammendment rights (the right to free speech), if they still try to sue me I will exercise my 2nd ammendment rights (the right to bear arms).

Enjoy

* * *

Febuary 1, 1968; 1745 local time; Tan Son Nhut Airbase, Saigon, Vietnam

Ichigo's squad (minus Ichigo) had unloaded the Huey and got themselves situated in temporary housing. The housing was a large tent, folded cots were sitting on the north wall, hanging electric bulbs provided illumination for the two round tables in the middle. Sitting forlornly in one of the corners was Ichigo's equipment, Renji had taken it in. Urahara, Kira, Ganju, and Gin had already set up their cots and were unpacking their belongings. Chad was sitting at one of the tables writing a letter. Ishida was sitting at the other table cleaning his rifle. Renji sat next to him, thumb-loading clips.

After finishing the clips he picked up his rifle and other combat gear and started walking toward the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Urahara.

"I'm going to find Ichigo, if you want to come feel free." Renji responded.

"You aren't going to go find Ichigo because you and I both know he's dead." Urahara said.

"You don't know that!" Renji shouted.

"I am ordering you to stay here!" Urahara shouted, pointing downward for emphasis.

"To Hell with orders! I've waited long enough, I'm going!" Renji said.

"You realize that you would be going AWOL with government property." Urahara said.

"Don' they hang ya' fer that?" Gin asked.

"No," Urahara said in a very grave tone, "they shoot you..." He took out his M-12 and loaded several shells into the tubular magazine. He worked the pump, chambering a round. He pointed the weapon at Renji shouting, "I lost some of my best men trying to find a man who was already dead, I'm not letting it happen again!"

"You never told us that before, what happened?" Renji asked.

"Pull up a chair, I'll tell you all about it. Kira, Gin, make sure he doesn't leave." Urahara said.

Urahara started his tale: "It was last year. Me and my men were taking part in Operation Cedar Falls, we were trying to destroy Charlie's tunnels down in Cu Chi." Urahara shuddered briefly and continued. "Back then I wasn't in command. We were commanded by a man named Chojiro Sasakibe. He was a real tea and crumpits kind of guy from Boston, damn good marksman though. Then there were the two sub-machinegunners Mac and Double-U. Their real names were Shunsui and Ukitate respectively. They were from Virginia. They mastered using the MAC-10 and Uzi one-handed. Shunsui had the MAC-10's and Ukitate had the Uzis. Then there was the guy with the M-60, Kenny. That guy was crazy, always shooting first and not bothering to ask any questions at all, came from Texas. There were the three rifemen: Shinji Hirako from Seattle, "Spike" from some backcountry hick-town in Wyoming, and Kiego Asano, he never told me where he was from. Then there was Hanataro" Urahara closed his eyes and let out a sigh before continuing. "He was a 'Tunnel Rat', poor kid."

"Spike wasn't the guy's real name, was it?" Ishida interrupted.

"Nah, he got that nickname during an earlier mission. His gun jammed up in the middle of a close quarters fight, he picked up a punji stake and impaled that VC he was fighting right through the chest." Urahara explained making a stabbing motion for emphasis.

He continued. "We were on a patrol with several other squads when we were ambushed. Charlie attacked the middle of our column, effectively splitting my squad into three groups, Kiego got wasted right off the bat. Me and Chojiro were together and we tried to find the rest of our group while similtainiously fending off the enemy. Kenny, Spike and Double-U were pinned down by a machinegun. Spike tried firing back but his M-16 jammed up after the second shot. Hanataro and Mac had their hands full too. We made our way to Hanataro and Mac and helped them out before dispatching the machinegun with a few well placed grenades. Chojiro ordered us to fan out and start searching for Shinji, before having his head blown off by a VC."

Urahara winced as a repressed memory reared its ugly head. "I assumed command and carried out Chojiro's last order. God, I still remember the screams. It was the worst twenty minutes of my life, I lost Spike and Kenny to a 'Bouncing Betty' trap. We found Shinji, or what was left of him propped up against a tree, both his legs were blown off. He was dead. It looked like he was hit by a grenade. We judged by the two blood trails leading up to the tree that he had crawled there. We also found a photograph in his hand, there were bloody smears on it. It was a picture of his girlfriend, she had a black ponytail, black specticles and was wearing a japanese schoolgirl uniform."

"A few days after the ordeal Hanataro went down one of those tunnels and never came back. Double-U caught some weird disease and got discharged. After our tours of duty were over, Mac got a cushy rear-eschalon job here in Saigon and all the replacements didn't re-enlist." Urahara finished his story.

Renji felt himself torn between two decisions. He could risk getting shot at by the enemy and his comrades in a foolish attempt to leave the compound and find Ichigo or he could stay here and let Ichigo die, provided he was still alive. Renji put his face in his hands and wept... he wept bitterly... because he knew that he would never see Ichigo again.

About fifty miles away, in the jungle, a girl came across the battered and unconsious form of an American soldier...

* * *

AWOL: Absence WithOut Leave, when a soldier leaves an area without permission. They **did not** shoot you for it, Urahara was just trying to scare Renji into staying.

Tunnel Rat: slang term for soldiers who were small enough to go down into the vietnam tunnels. Usually they were armed with only a flashlight and pistol. Their job was very dangerous and their survival rate was very low.

Punji Stake: Sharpened wooden spikes used by the Viet Cong as a trap. They were usually hidden in tall grass and the ends were sometimes smeared with things to encourage infection.

Wasted: slang term for killed

Bouncing Betty: slang term for a mine that launches in the air and explodes, its effect on a human torso similar to that of a large-bore shotgun.

Author's notes: The next chapter will feature Ichigo, and someone he has only dreamed about.


	11. A Local's Kindness

A few words from the author: Thank you to all who read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed it.

Notes on the text: The author means no disrespect to anyone who fought in Vietnam, or the Vietnamese in general. Though the author has researched the topics mentioned at length there may be improbabilities.

Enjoy

* * *

Febuary 1, 1968; unknown local time; undisclosed location 50 miles northeast of Saigon, Vietnam 

_Is this death?... so cold... so very cold..._

Ichigo slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a young woman, not much younger than he was. She had deep sapphire eyes and jet black hair. She held a wet rag on his forehead.

_So beautiful..._

He looked at her for a time as she dabbed some blood off of his lacerated face. He had gotten a few nicks and cuts from the underbrush, but nothing serious. Eventually his eyes turned to other things, taking in his surroundings. He was propped up in the corner of a one-room building, across from him he could see several wooden containers. To his right he saw a firepit and various cooking implements. The door was on the wall to his left.

He looked down and saw that the front of his shirt had been ripped by something, a shallow gash went down from his left shoulder to his the bottom right of his ribcage, he could also feel an intense pain in his back, crude bandages covered much of his torso. His right pantleg had been ripped down from mid-thigh to the knee, a shallow gash in was there too, under the bandages.

The woman stopped washing his face and wrung out the rag into a basin. She took the basin outside and Ichigo heard the water being poured on the ground. Ichigo tried moving his arms and legs, they moved, but it was painful. Ichigo drifted into sleep, against his better judgement.

Ichigo was woken up from his slumber by shouting emanating from the opposite corner of the room. He could hear a man shouting in Vietnamese, a language Ichigo understood very little of. Ichigo's understanding of Vietnamese was limited to; "yes", "no", plus vairious forms of the phrases "please don't kill me", and "DIE!".

Ichigo saw an older man with jet black hair yelling at someone in the corner. He heard a smack, and a girl cry out in pain. He didn't undersand a word the man said, but that wouldn't stop him from doing what he thought was right. His right hand fumbled around his left thigh and found his pistol. He pulled out the weapon and turned the safety off. Ichigo stood up and limped over behind the man, and saw who the man was yelling at. He was chastizing the girl who had saved his life!

The man raised his arm to backhand the girl again, Ichigo grabbed the man's arm. The man turned around and punched Ichigo square in the jaw, sending him to the ground and knocking his pistol onto the floor. The man then clamped his hands around Ichigo's neck. Ichigo panicked; He had to do something... anything. He couldn't reach his combat knife that was in its sheath on his leg. He looked to his right... his pistol. He reached his arm out and tried to grab the weapon, his fingers found the barrel assembly and he grabbed onto it.

Ichigo swung the weapon, the handgrip hitting his assailant on his left temple and causing him to go sprawling on the ground. Ichigo quickly stood up, cocked the hammer back and aimed the weapon at the man with vicious intent. The man was frozen in terror, fear was written all over his person. As Ichigo's finger tightened around the trigger, he heard a wimper... coming from the corner. Ichigo looked and saw the horrifed face of the girl, tears streaming down her face, her eyes pleading with him.

Ichigo's heart softened at the sight, he put the safety on his pistol and holstered it. "Saigon?", he asked them. They pointed to the southwest. He took some of the man's clothes and conical hat in order to disguise himself and set out through the jungle on a dirt path.

------------------------------

Febuary 1, 1968; 2330 local time; undisclosed location 47 miles northeast of Saigon, Vietnam

Ichigo slowly limped along the path towards the city, his mind was troubled by what he had experienced. He knew he had many more miles to go, but already fatigue was setting in. His mind started wandering. Why did she save me? Why didn't I kill him? Why didn't he try to kill me after I put my gun away? Ichigo shook his head and continued on his way...

All of a sudden he saw flares go up into the air. Then unseen people started firing at him. Ichigo jumped behind some cover and drew his pistol. Then he heard some voices.

"Hawk, get a frag on that guy!" The voice emanated from the foliage on his right.

Ichigo heard the sound of a pin being pulled on his left, followed by a shout of, "CHEW ON THIS, CHARLIE!!" The grenade bounced right next to Ichigo. Ichigo jumped on the other side of his cover and the grenade went off.

Ichigo jumped behind the cover again and took off his disguise shouting, "DON'T SHOOT, I'M AN AMERICAN!!"

He heard a voice coming from his right say, "Hold your fire men. Alright, show yourself."

Ichigo holstered his pistol and stood up with his hands in the air. The one of the men turned on his flashlight and pointed it at Ichigo. Ichigo was standing in the middle of the dirt trail. his face was covered with dirt, his uniform was discolored with fresh bloodstains from his wounds that had re-opened because of the strain and dried bloodstains, his boots and fatigues were covered in mud.

A voice on his left said, "He's wounded, Doc get over here."

The group of men broke cover, some started picking up the mines and trip-flares they had planted

The medic hurried over to examine Ichigo. "Wow, you got pretty beat up. What happened?" the man called "Doc" asked.

"Fell out of my Huey... on the way to Saigon... Saigon... need to get... to Saigon" Ichigo said weakly.

"You are one lucky bastard, we had claymores about two feet past those trip-flares you activated." One of the men said.

The men put Ichigo on a strethcer and loaded him into a medevac helicopter. Doc gave Ichigo a shot of morphene. Ichigo smiled as the drug started working, the pain faded away as he fell into a deep fatige/drug induced sleep.

* * *

Trip-flares: flares that lit up when activated by a trip-wire, commonly placed at ambush sites to give away the position of an enemy.

Claymore: designated the M18a1 the claymore was an anti-personal mine that worked like a giant shotgun, it could be remote detonated by the person who placed it or detonated by the victim using trip-wires and other means.

Morphene: a strong painkiller made from Opium.

Author's notes: If you haven't already guessed the two other people in this chapter are Byakuya and Rukia. I know I made Byakuya very out of character. He was angry at Rukia because the Viet Cong did very unpleasant things to those who were caught helping Americans, and since Ichigo's falling out of the Huey was a result of a VC attack Byakuya worried that the VC might still be in the area.


	12. New Places, Old Friends

A few words from the author: Thank you to all who read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed it. I am also taking suggestions for the next chapter.

Notes on the text: The beginning of this chapter contains some dark irony. The author means no disrespect to anyone who fought in Vietnam, or the Vietnamese in general. Though the author has researched the topics mentioned at length there may be improbabilities.

Enjoy

* * *

Febuary 2, 1968; 1050 local time; Saigon, Vietnam 

Ichigo woke up to find himself in a hospital ward with little idea of where he was. He sat up and winced slightly at the small pain. His entire torso was wrapped in bandages and he had bandages on the upper area of his right leg. The hospital had white walls and bright lights, beds lined both sides of the long ward. There were doors at both ends of the large room.

He looked to his left and saw a man propped up in his bed. The man's whole upper body was covered with bandages, his arms were held up by slings hanging from a complicated metal structure. Someone had put a helmet on him, the cloth covering on it read "God Bless DuPont Chemical Plant".

On Ichigo's other side was a sleeping man, everything from his elbow to his shoulder of his left arm was wrapped in bandages. Everything below the man's elbow was gone. The man turned fitfully onto his right side. "Jones... where are you... Stan... Stan... wake up... please wake up..." he said weakly.

The door on the far end opened up and in came Urahara and Renji, accompanied by a young-looking nurse with grey hair. They walked over to Ichigo and smiled at him.

"Welcome back you lucky bastard." Urahara said.

"They gonna send you home?" Renji asked.

"Nope, they won't even give me a Purple Heart." Ichigo said somewhat dissapointedly.

------------------------------------------

Febuary 10, 1968; 1850 local time; Saigon, Vietnam

Ichigo and his squad sat inside an APC heading towards the forward command post in the hostile area of the city.

The outside of the APC resembled a brick with tank treads, the front of the vehicle was slanted slightly inward. The vehicle had a .50 cal. machinegun mounted inside what appeared to be a metal box with no top. The APC's inside was little more than a big metal box. The men sat on benches attached to the sides of the machine. It was not the most comfortable way to travel, Vietam was a very humid country and today the air seemed so thick that one could take a knife and cut it. This humidity was intensified by the small area of the APC. Some of the men were a little on edge, taking the joke the driver made as truth.

_One hour ago..._

_"Wow, the M113 "ACAV", 275 horse power 6 cylindar diesel engine, 24mm armor plating... man you guys sure know how to travel." Ganju commented to the driver._

_"You kidding? This thing's made of aluminum," The driver said, hitting the side of the vehicle for emphasis. "you scratch off the paint it'll say 'Budweiser' on it. Besides, when they break out the RPG's, 24mm of aluminum don't help much."_

_"So? how much protection do you think I get from this GI shirt?" Ganju responded pointing to his shirt_.

The men arrived in front of the CP a few minutes later and got out. The CP was situated in a requisitioned building made out of concrete that stood about two stories tall, there was a 3 foot sandbag wall surrounding it. Small depressions made by bullets could be seen all over the building's outer walls. The eight windows on the top floor and the eight on the bottom floor had been taken out and had sandbags piled behind them. The inside of the building was one room that had tile floors. The floors were strewn with rubble, shell casings, cigarette butts, and various other discarded items. There were also red stains where bodies had fallen. There was a staircase in the middle of the of the wall on the end opposite from the entrance. Ichigo's squad entered the building. Soldiers were sitting on the floor, some against the walls, others on their helmets. Some were smoking, sleeping, cleaning their weapons, writing letters, talking, playing cards, reading books, or any combination thereof.

Urahra led his men up the stairs and was slightly suprised at who he saw. Two MAC-10's and a full ashtray rested on a makeshift table, next to them they saw the hunched back of a soldier. The solder wore faded green fatigues and a helmet. He stood up and turned around, revealing a light complexion marred by dirt and stress, he had a 5 o'clock shadow and brown eyes. When he saw Urahara he smiled and walked over to greet his old comrade.

"Mac, long time no see buddy!" Urahara said, shaking the other man's hand.

"Too long, Sandal-hat, too long." The man responded in a cordial tone.

"So, what happened to the cushy desk job?" Urahara asked.

"I'd still be pushing papers if Charlie hadn't dropped in to say 'hi'." He responded.

The two men then started to talk about old times, Ichigo wandered over to a nearby corner and sat down propping himself against the two walls and slowly drifted to sleep, unaware of the trials he would be put through in the coming weeks.

* * *

DuPont: the company that manufactured Napalm and the defoilant Agent Orange. 

APC: Armored Personel Carrier

ACAV: Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle

Budwieser: A popular brand of American beer

GI: Government Issue

5 o'clock shadow: light facial hair growth

Author's notes: the M113 APC really was made of Aluminum. Specifically Aircraft-grade Aluminum, which is as strong as steel but lighter.


	13. Red Books and Rusty Gunz

A few words from the author: Thank you to all who read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed it.

Notes on the text: The beginning of this chapter is very sad.

Enjoy

* * *

February 9, 1968; 921 local time; Saigon, Vietnam 

Ichigo was shaken from his slumber by an explosion. He heard small-arms fire coming off of the wall opposite of his position, he knew what was happening. He loaded his weapon and stumbled over to one of the windows. Even though he had been through some tough fights, combat still had a chaotic overtone for him.

He set up his weapon in one of the windows. From his second story vantage point he could see about fifteen people running around in khaki uniforms and pith helmets, carrying AK's, they were NVA (North Vietnam Army). Ichigo opened fire and started sweeping the area with hot lead, shell casings clanging as they hit the tile floor.

The fight was brief, the enemy retreated after about seven minutes, leaving five corpses behind. Shunsui was talking on the radio trying to get some med-evac for the three men wounded in the fight. After about ten minutes the three men were evacuated and five enemy bodies were stacked up on the side of the road.

Ichigo had helped clean up and for his efforts found himself in the possesion of a little red book. It was sewn together with a red string and had red leather covers, Một mẩu nhà was written on the front in black ink. He had taken it off of one of the dead men. As he opened it up, a small picture fell out and wafted face-down on the ground. He bent down and picked it up. He looked at it, his heart sank as he saw what the picture was. A black and white photograph of the man in his uniform smiling as a small boy sat on his shoulders, next to him stood a young woman.

Ichigo had always known that these "rice-powered bastards" were real people. Despite this, he found that thinking of them as less than human made them easier to kill, like a person swatting a fly. The little photo he held in his hands plainly demonstrated that this man was a real person; a person with a family. Ichigo flipped through the little book, he couldn't read the writing, but something inside told him that this was not communist propaganda. He found several other pictures, some were of the little boy and young woman, and others were of the man standing next to fellow soldiers and one picture was of the man and an older couple.

Ichigo felt a hand on his left shoulder. He looked over to see Urahara gazing at the pictures.

"Where'd you get the diary?" Urahara asked.

"Is that what this is?" Ichigo said.

"Yeah, I've seen books like these before. Filled with poetry, letters from home, pictures of loved ones, stuff like that." Urahara said in a grave tone.

"Kind of sad isn't it?" Ichigo said.

"Yeah, but what can you do? If we didn't kill him, he would have killed us." Urahara said with the slightest hint of remorse. "Come on, we're moving out."

Urahara walked back into the building, leaving Ichigo standing by the door.

Ichigo put the pictures back into the book. He walked over to the pile of bodies and brushed away the flies that had gathered. He took the small book and placed it into the pocket of the dead man, wiping away tears as he walked away.

-------------------------------------

February 9, 1968; 952 local time; Cholon district, Saigon, Vietnam

The morning sun shone down from the partially clouded sky on to the Cholon district's many concrete buildings and dusty roads. The streets were deserted, most of the residents either fled the area or stayed indoors.

Ichigo's squad moved along the streets towards the forward command center. They moved along very close to the sides of the buildings. Gin was at the front, M-16 at the ready. Urahara behind him, his left breast pocket contained five cellophane-wrapped cigars, a parting gift from Shunsui, Ichigo and Renji stood behind him. Chad, Ganju, Kira, and Ishida were on the other side of the street hugging the walls of the buildings as well. Kira and Renji were issued M-16's a few days after arriving in Saigon. Despite Urahara's horror stories, they both found their new weapons to be strong and reliable.

Eventually they came to another building. The brick and stucco building was surrounded by a six foot wall, making an inner courtyard. The whole building was about one hundred and fifty square feet. There were bullet holes all over the walls and building. There were about five men total resting against the walls inside the courtyard. They looked dirty, tired, and empty. One of them clutched his weapon close nervously twitching and looking around, two others just sat there and smoked their cigarettes.

Urahara went inside the building and found two men sitting on crates at a crude table smoking cigarettes. The room was illuminated only by the large hole in the ceiling. The man on Urahara's right wore faded green army fatigues and a helmet that read "God created men, Mr. Colt made them equal", he had light skin, a somewhat muscular build, black hair and a five o'clock shadow. The man had a 1911 pistol holstered on each hip, and had two Colt "Python" .357 magnum revolvers in holsters near his armpits. An M-60 was propped up on his side of the table.

The man on the other side was dressed in camoflaged fatigues. Written on his helmet was the message "Stercus Accidit". His figure was slightly smaller than the other man's, he had a 1911 on his right hip and a large knife on his left. His M-16 was propped up on his side of the table. He had dark brown hair that seemed black due to the absence of sufficient light.

The two men looked up at Urahara.

"Howdy folks, you guys in Oscar company?" Urahara said resting his shotgun on his right shoulder.

"That's us, you with the replacements?" The man on the right responded blowing a cloud of smoke.

"Yes sir." Urahara said. "I'm Sandal-hat, the rest of my boys are outside."

"I'm Kira Tenaka, but call me Rusty. That's Gunz. Nice to meet you." The man on the left said pointing to the other man and shaking Urahara's hand.

"Heh heh heh, we used to call him Steely at Bootcamp." Gunz said shaking Urahara's hand after he finished shaking the other man's hand.

"Why do they call you Rusty now?" Urahara said turning back to the man on the left.

"I came back covered in dirt after our first mission, Gunz started shouting 'Hey! look everyone! Steely rusted!' I kicked his ass, but the name stuck." Rusty responded.

"If I recall correctly, you were the one who got the ass kicking." Gunz said, tossing the cigarette butt on the floor and stepping on it.

"No, I specifically remember you screaming like a little girl when I started beating you with that empty beer bottle." Rusty said.

"Oh, that ass kicking. I must be remembering the time you put the bugs in my SOS" Gunz said.

"I didn't put those in, the food here always has bugs and shit in it." Rusty said somewhat defensively.

The men continued to argue and Urahara chuckled to himself saying, "I think I'm gonna like it here."

* * *

Một mẩu nhà: literally "A piece of home" in Vietnamese, possibly out of syntax because I do not speak Vietnamese. 

Cholon district: Saigon's "Chinatown" the scene of heavy and sporadic fighting for about two months after the initial Tet offensive.

Stercus Accidit: latin for "Shit Happens"

Author's notes: the origional M-16's had problems because of poor quality ammunition, poor manufacturing, and the practice of not providing cleaning kits. These problems were fixed by 1967, but the reputation for unreliablility remained.

The soil in Vietnam has a reddish tint to it, possibly due to high iron content.

The two new characters are other people's OC's

Gunz (Ikatsue) was willingly lent by b3y0nd, the writing on his helmet is an old frontier saying. This phrase is ment to reflect on the abundance of Colt products on his person.

Kira Tenaka was graciously lent by TFKeyes. If you read the "Marine" series of fics you might understand the wierd nickname.


	14. Coffee, Donuts, and Relationships

A few words from the author: Thank you to all who read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed it.

Notes on the text: this chapter could be considered filler, but I wanted to take a little break from darkness. Warning: contains massive innuendo and massive exaggeration.

Enjoy

* * *

February 10, 1968; 830 local time; Cholon district, Saigon, Vietam 

Renji was sitting next to Gunz, who was talking into the radio he was carrying. Gunz got off the radio, stood up, called everybody over to him and told them what he heard on the radio.

"We've got a new mission to go get coffee and donuts. The problem is, Charlie drank all coffee and ate all the donuts, so now we have to go kick their asses." Gunz said as he loaded his M-60. "Saddle up!"

The five men, who were there before Ichigo's squad arrived, groaned as they got up and loaded their weapons.

"Wait, how'z 'at any differ'nt from what we were doin' before." Gin asked with a slightly confused look on his face.

"It's not" Ganju said in a humorless tone.

Renji asked a member of Gunz's squad, "Is he always like this?"

"Yeah, he's like this all the time. You get used to it after a while." One of the riflemen responded.

-------------------------------------------------

February 10, 1968; 1306 local time; Cholon district, Saigon, Vietnam

Ichigo's unit stopped to have lunch. Ichigo, Renji, Rusty, and Urahara situated themselved along the wall a small abandoned room. The inside walls of the room were lined with hangers and storage racks. Urahara guessed that this had once been a market booth. They opened their C-rations and began eating. Ichigo noticed Rusty take out a small photograph from underneath his helmet.

"What's that?" Ichigo asked.

"It's a picture of my wife, see?" Rusty said handing the photo to Ichigo.

Ichigo's eyes got huge and his jaw dropped as he stared at the tall, busty, strawberry blonde in the photograph. She was lying on a beach wearing a very revealing red bikini and winking in a way that should have been illegal. Renji and Urahara, seeing Ichigo's face scooted over and looked at the picture, their eyes grew huge. Urahara whistled approvingly.

"HOLY SHIT! How the hell did a guy like you end up with a babe with that?!" Renji asked.

"What can I say? I have a thing for blondes." Rusty said shrugging bashfully.

"Let me get this straight. You left that woman to come to this shit-hole?" Renji asked, "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Duty first, besides my tour is over in three months." Rusty said.

"How much you wanna bet Jodi's banging her right now?" Ichigo said to Renji.

"You kidding? I bet Jodi started banging her the minute he shipped out." Renji said laughing.

Rusty took back the photograph saying, "Jodi wouldn't touch her, if he did she would make sure that he would never be able to bang another soldier's woman ever again."

"She give you that as a going-away present?" Urahara asked.

"Sort of, the real going-away present came later that night. I went to bed at nine, fell asleep at eleven." Rusty said, looking rather pleased with himself.

"Two hours? that's nothing. Last year at our old post in Boun Ma Thout, this guy took us to town. We found out that Sandal-hat here had a particular hooker he visited every time he went into town. She charged sixty bucks a pop." Ichigo said pointing to Urahara.

"Sixty bucks? That's a lot." Rusty said.

"To be more specific, she charged twelve dollars an hour... and believe me it was worth every penny." Urahara said smiling.

Apon hearing that, Rusty gagged on the food he was eating. After he cleared his throat, he looked at Urahara with a mixture of awe and disbelief.

"When she says 'me love you long time' she means it." Urahara said chuckling at Rusty's response.

After a few minutes the men finished their lunch and packed up. Ignorant of the battle they would face later that very day.

* * *

The coffee and doughnuts line was "borrowed" from Call of Duty 3 (which is a pretty good game if you're into WWII shooters).

C-rations: Prepackaged meals issued to soldiers, contained an entree, gum, toiletpaper, cigarettes, and other necessities

Jodi: the legendary civilian that goes around sleeping with all the soldier's wives and girlfriends where they're overseas

Author's notes: I have five character spots in the story that I would like filled with OC's. I am currently looking for five male OC's to use. Please PM if you are interested.


	15. The End of Innocence

I would like to thank everyone who took the time to read my story and would like to thank those who reviewed my story even more

Notes on the text: this chapter may push the "T" rating evelope, it gets very graphic, sad, dark, and bloody.

Enjoy

* * *

February 10, 1968; 1703 local time; Cholon district, Saigon, Vietnam 

Ichigo's squad moved along the buildings. The area was deserted, except for the occasional rodent or bird. They came to an intersection, on their left and right were bombed out buildings, about one hundred feet ahead they could see what appeared to be a buddist temple. The temple was actually more like a rectangular building that enclosed a courtyard where a rock garden was located.

Ichigo didn't remember when the firing started, all he knew was that he needed to duck behind cover and get ready to provide suppresive fire. Everyone was behind cover of some sort. Ichigo, Kira, and Rusty were ducking behind a pile of rubble. Most of the others had taken shelter in the nearby buildings behind him and returning fire. Urahara and Renji were inside a large crater on his left, the antenna on Renji's radio swayed back and fourth as bullets whizzed past it. Urahara peered out from behind cover and glimpsed men with guns moving around inside the temple.

Urahara got on the radio and contacted the local fire support battery.

"Welcome to Kentucky Fried Charlies, can I take your order?" The voice crackled.

"Sandal-hat here, we need some willie peter at grid refrence hotel, echo, romeo, three. " Urahra said.

A few minutes later about three shells impacted inside the temple walls raising clouds of white smoke and raining white flakes down on the area. Almost immediately after the explosions, Ichigo heard sreams, then more explosions, and more screams as burning white snow rained down upon the unfortunate souls. Several men ran out from the temple coughing, gagging, and screaming as they tried to relieve the burning caused by the white flakes, these men were quickly gunned down.

"That's enough, good job." Urahra said into the radio.

After what seemed like hours, the firing stopped from the inside of the temple stopped.

Renji, Ichigo, Kira, Urahra and Ganju moved forward to check out the temple. The inside of the temple was covered with white residue. Ichigo looked to his right and saw Urahara gave one dying man the coup d' grace with his revolver. Complete and utter terror was frozen on what was left of the mans face as a pool of blood slowly spread out on the ground from the fatal wound. The scene sent chills down Ichigo's spine and would be burned into his memory forever. They found no other survivors and regrouped with the others.

--------------------------------------------

February 20, 1968; 1309 local time; Cholon district, Saigon, Vietnam

Ichigo and the rest of the men had now been in the Cholon district for almost two weeks. During that time Ichigo had seen the harsh brutal realities of urban combat. His knife, now sheathed at his right hip instead of his leg, had tasted blood numerous times. He had seen bodies horribly mangled by artillery and small arms. He had also, for the first time in his life, tasted alcohol. . . and liked it. The innocent young boy that had arrived in Rukongai only four months before was gone; replaced by a hardened killing machine. Ichigo's case was not an uncommon one; Ganju, Gin, and Renji experienced similar changes.

They walked along the dusty alleys of the city towards an intersection, the afternoon sun shining down from the partly cloudy sky. The man known as "Twitch" was on point about ten feet in front of the rest, his eyes darted this way and that as he walked along. He clutched his M-16 nervously. As he reached the intersection, Twitch saw something on his left move out of the corner of his eye. He quickly turned to see a man dressed in what could be described as black pajamas pointing a gun at him. Before Twitch could fire back, a bullet pierced his chest and he hit the ground... dead.

"AMBUSH!!" Gunz shouted.

Everyone ran for cover as bullets started flying from up ahead. Renji was running towards an open door when a bullet hit the radio on his back and jerked him sideways. He made it inside the door and saw Chad, Gin, and Ganju firing out of the windows.

"MEDIC!!" Kira shouted as he crawled toward cover. He had taken a hit in his right shin, splinters of bone stuck out of his injured leg. Ichigo and Urahra grabbed him and tried to drag him into another open door behind them, but as when they had gotten him about half way to the door, Kira was hit in the chest by a burst of automatic fire. They propped him up against the wall inside the building, his breathing was labored and heavy, the front of his uniform was drenched with blood.

"Ichigo... tell me the truth... is it bad?" Kira choked out.

"No, no, you're gonna' be all right." Ichigo said unbuttoning Kira's shirt and examining the wounds.

"No... I can... (cough) I can... see it in your eyes... I'm a goner." Kira said coughing out blood.

"No, you're not going to die. I will not let you die, do you hear me?" Ichigo said with genuine concern in his voice. "You're going to be fine, they'll send you home. You'll go on and get yourself a beautiful wife, maybe some children."

"Y-you... (cough) you really... think so?" Kira asked.

"I know so, you're gonna' be all right." Ichigo said, tears starting to well up in his eyes.

"Ichigo... (cough) you... you're a... great soldier... and a... a great friend... (cough) but a... a horrible... liar." Kira said, laughing weakly as he choked on the blood in his throat. He made one last cough and his body went limp.

Ichigo sobbed as took his blood soaked hands and closed Kira's eyes. Urahara stopped talking to Gunz and saw what had happened. He walked over to Ichigo and heard Ichigo mumbling

They'll pay for this... every single one... of those goddamed commies... they'll all pay...

* * *

Willie Peter: White Phosphorus, an incendiary compound first used during World War One and still used in the present day. Contact with skin causes severe burns sometimes eating all the way to the bone. Also produces fumes that can irritate the eyes and nose. Intense exposure to fumes can cause explosive coughing. 

coup d' grace: literally: "blow of grace", in this context it means a mercy killing

Point: The person selected to go ahead of the squad and check for traps or ambushes. It was a very dangerous job.


	16. Payback

I would like to thank all those who took the time to read my story. I would like to thank all those who reviewed my story even more.

Notes on the text: This chapter is very violent, and bloody.

Enjoy

* * *

February 10, 1968; 1439 local time; Cholon district, Saigon, Vietnam

Bullets whizzed through the air as Urahara and Gunz deliberated on what to do. The handset on Renji's radio had been damaged, so they couldn't call in any kind of fire support. Renji simply took off the damaged radio and put it on the ground. They finally came to an agreement, they would take the building that the enemy was firing from and secure it. Ishida, Chad, and a few others would stay behind to pick off anyone who would try to escape. They would send up a colored smoke signal if something was wrong, this signal would tell the others to retreat.

Urahara used hand signals to convey the orders to Renji and the group across the street. Urahara, Renji, and a few others pulled out some smoke grenades to cover their advance. The grenades resembled tin cans that had a cube-shaped protrusion on one of the flat ends with a ring sticking out ot it. They pulled the rings and whisps of white smoke escaped from the cannisters. They threw the canisters out of the building onto the street, the grenades started to produce a thick cloud of white smoke that obscured the building.

"It's payback time." Ichigo said as loaded his weapons, adjusted the sling on his M-60, and tightened the chinstraps on his helmet. His eyes had a vicious glint in them.

Ishida, Chad, Gin, and Gunz and three other men from his squad stayed behind while the rest of them moved forward into the cloud of white smoke that was enveloping the area. Ichigo and Rusty arrived at the door of the building first and pressed up against the wall on the side of the door. Ichigo took out a grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it into the door. He rushed in after the explosion spraying the area with bullets. The room was very small, it had a door on each of the other walls. A man wearing a conical hat peeked around the door to Ichigo's left, only to end up staring down the barrel of a machinegun held by a very pissed American soldier. Ichigo fired and the man hit the floor with a heavy thud, an expression of suprise frozen on his disfigured face.

Everyone split up, Urahara went to the door straight ahead, Ganju and Rusty went to the door on the right, and Ichigo and Renji took the door to the left.

Urahara walked in holding his shotgun in a ready position. The room was illuminated by nothing more than the flickering of a fire in the right corner and holes in the celing. The flames drew Urahara's attention for a moment. He looked up and saw a man swinging the back end of a rifle at him. Urahara parried the blow with his shotgun, but the man pinned him to the wall. The man tried to force the weapon onto Urahara's windpipe, Urahara took his shotgun in both hands and forced it against the other man's rifle vertically. Urahara leveled his shotgun to the man's face and pulled the trigger. The blast obliterated the man's face and knocked him to the ground, Urahra pulled out his revolver and put a slug in the man's head to make sure the job was done.

"PAYBACK'S A BITCH, AIN'T IT CHARLE?!" he shouted with a demented grin as he gunned down another soldier. The room Ichigo and Renji were in was similar to the room Urahara had entered. Ichigo's machinegun jammed after he fired it. He pulled out his pistol and fired a few rounds into the dead man's head. Ichigo pulled out his knife and entered another room, this room had a rug in the middle of the floor, Ichigo looked under the rug and saw a square, wooden, trap door. Ichigo got down on his hands and knees and put his ear to the door. He could hear a voice from the other side speaking in Vietnamese.

The trapdoor rose slowly as someone underneath it peered out. Ichigo (still crouched by the door) took his knife and plunged it into the opening, he felt the warm wetness of human blood on his hand and the skin of a person. An ear splitting scream emanated from the hole. Ichigo opened the door and pulled the man out by yanking upward with his knife. The hilt of Ichigo's knife protruded from the man's left eye socket. Ichigo grabbed the man by the hair, removed his knife from his eye and cut the man's throat; blood rushed out of the man's open jugular vein. Ichigo threw the corpse aside and took out a fragmentation grenade. He pulled the pin, waited three seconds and dropped it into the hole.

Rusty and Ganju faced neglegable resistance on their side of the building, but in their hurry to clear out the rooms they had overlooked a shallow, square-shaped depression in the floor.

Everyone regrouped at the room with the trapdoor, Ichigo took out a flashlight and peered into the tunnel. It was just large enough for him to crawl into. He started his descent into the darkness, flecks of shrapnel from his grenade were lodged inside the walls of the tunnel. Ichigo came to a small room, on his left side he saw wicker baskets on his right side he saw a table with a crude lantern, an old bolt-action rifle, and assorted bullets sitting on top of it. Ichigo took out his pistol and walked over to the baskets looking for any sign of life. He then yelled up to Ganju.

"Hey, Ganju gimme some C-4 we have a suppy cache down here." Ichigo shouted up from the room.

"You got it." Ganju said taking out a grey brick of C-4 and putting in the detonator.

Ichigo crawled up the tunnel and retrieved the explosives. He set the explosives on the roof of the room and crawled back to the surface. Everyone left the room and Ganju pressed the detonator. A muffled explosion accompanied by a cloud of dust marked the end of the cache. Everyone returned to the room and saw a large bowl-shaped depression.

They turned to leave and as Rusty turned towards the door he heard a metallic "plink". Before he could turn around to see what had made the noise, an explosion knocked him on his face as fragments shrapnel tore through his uniform and ripped into the flesh of his legs. Renji heard the explosion and ran toward the door, firing his M-16. Ganju and Urahara followed him and picked up Rusty. They put Rusty's arms around their shoulders and headed out of the building towards Gunz and the rest of their squads.

They reached Gunz and his men. Urahara laid Rusty on the ground started patching up his legs, the grenade had almost completely removed much of his left calf muscle (the muscle on the back of the lower part of the leg, below the knee) and had embedded shrapnel into much of his back.

"I don't wanna die!" Rusty shouted.

"You're not going to die!" Urahara said loudly. "I won't let you."

"Just like Ichigo?" Rusty said grimly.

Urahara took Rusty's helmet off and pulled out the picture of his wife, he held the photo in front of Rusty's face.

"You're going to be fine, just think about how happy she'll be when she sees you coming home early." Urahara said. "Just keep your guts in boy, we're gonna get through this thing."

Ichigo and Renji ducked into the crater in the room, by now they were trapped by at least seven enemy soldiers, Renji pulled out a colored smoke grenade and activated it. A cloud of green smoke emanated from the holes in the celing.

Renji's radio had been all but forgotten during this time, suddenly a voice crackled out of the speaker.

"Oscar, this is Wiskey two, zero we've spotted your signal, _air strike is on the way._ Estimated time to arrival, twenty minutes."


	17. True Friends and Past Mistakes

I would like to thank all those who took the time to read my story. I would like to thank all those who reviewed my story even more.

Notes on the text: This chapter is very dark and bloody. Contains alcohol refrences. If you squint, you might see Hollow Ichigo rear his demented head again.

Enjoy

* * *

_"Oscar, this is Whiskey two, zero, we see your smoke signal. **Airstrike inbound**, estimated time to arrival, twenty minutes."_

Chad heard the radio message, he ran to Urahara and Gunz to tell them. When they heard the news they were shocked, but they decided not to rescue Ichigo or Renji. They did not want to risk any more deaths.

Chad couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew he had to try and save them.

Not because they were his comrades...

Not because they were his friends...

But because they had become...

His brothers...

Chad took out the gold coin he wore around his neck and kissed it. Before Urahara could protest; Chad loaded his weapons and moved out towards the building, Ganju went with him. Urahara let them go, figuring it would be better for them to be killed by the enemy than by his own hand.

One of the Viet Cong was standing beside the door of the room where Renji and Ichigo were holed up. Suddenly he heard a strange "thoomp" sound coming from behind him. He looked over to see a grenade, the grenade hit him square in the abdomen and detonated. The blast separated legs from torso and made a bloody mess of the wall. Ichigo and Renji saw the explosion and cheered, not knowing of the F-4 Phantom fighter/bombers that were currently less than seven minutes from their location.

Ichigo threw his last grenade into the doorway on his right, the one that hadn't been hit by Chad's grenade. Ichigo pulled out his pistol and knife as the grenade detonated and rushed forward, stabbing one man through the ribcage while he fired a few rounds into the body of another man.

Ichigo felt something on his knife hand...

It felt warm...

It felt wet...

It felt...

wonderful...

Dark red blood flowed onto his left hand as his blade found the man's heart. Ichigo's adrenalin saturated brain sent pulses of pleasure to the rest of his body and Ichigo started to laugh cruelly. He pulled his knife out and moved on to the next room.

He saw the back of a man who was shouting in Vietnamese and guesturing wildly, Ichigo crept up on the man, leveled his pistol to the back of his head and squeezed the trigger. The man fell forward and hit the ground with a thud. As the man fell Ichigo saw who the man was shouting at. A woman huddled in the corner of the room clutching a little girl close to her. Ichigo smiled a predatory grin as he pointed his pistol at the woman and pulled the trigger...

_click_...

Ichigo looked at his pistol and saw that he was out of bullets. He raised his knife, blood dripping off the blade. "Payback's a bitch ain't it you commie bastards..." he said with sadistic grin, his eyes shone with demented pleasure. The woman clutched the child closer to her and closed her eyes tightly. Ichigo was about to stab the woman when he felt a very strong hand grip his wrist. He whirled around and saw the concerned face of Chad. Ichigo's smile faded as he returned to a state of relative sanity. He turned around and saw the two people he would have killed. His heart melted, his knees buckled, his weapons clanged and clattered as they hit the floor, he put his face in his hands and wept.

Suddenly they heard the roar of jet engines. "We have to get out of here!" Chad shouted, grabbing the woman and the girl and running towards the door. Ichigo picked up his weapons and ran after Chad. Ichigo, Chad and Renji were about fifteen feet from the building when fireballs erupted from it, scattering dust and debris everywhere.

Ichigo heard a loud shouting and looked back to see Ganju crying for help. Ichigo ran up to him and saw that there was a large piece of rubble crushing Ganju's left leg. Ichigo couldn't move it and Chad was too far. Ichigo looked up and saw more planes coming.

"This is going to hurt." Ichigo said as he pulled out his knife.

Ichigo took his knife and cut the few remaining muscles and ligaments that were attached to the mangled lower part of Ganju's leg as the trapped man cried out in pain. Ichigo then dragged the screaming man back to the building. The building soon erupted in another torrent of flame and debris.

Ichigo and Ganju reached the others and Urahara patched up Ganju's leg as best he could. Ichigo looked at the woman and child and wondered what had possesed him to attack them.

Ichigo and his squad pulled out of the area and slowly moved towards a field station. Ichigo and Ishida helped Ganju hobble on his remaining leg while Urahara and one of Gunz's riflemen helped Rusty. Gunz and Gin had the worst job of all, they had to carry the bodies of Twitch, Kira, and two other Riflemen on a makeshift stretcher.

--------------------------------------------

The setting sun found them all sitting around at the field hospital, Renji got a new radio, and replacements would be coming in by tomorrow. Ichigo sat on a crate, his equipment piled up next to him. Two empty beer cans lay on the ground, Ichigo opened a third and took a long drink.

"alcohol... sweet sweet alcohol..." Ichigo thought as the beer started to work its magic.

Urahara sat on another crate next to Ichigo, his pack of supplies at his side and his shotgun resting across his legs. Urahara pulled the last of his cigars out of his pocket and lit it up, taking a few puffs before looking up at Icihigo.

"I hear you almost put a knife into that mama-san Chad was carrying." Urahara said as he placed the cigar to his lips again. Ichigo didn't respond, he just took another drink from his beer and sighed. "You're lucky Chad was there to stop you." Urahara said. "Wish somebody did that during my first tour." Urahara took a few puffs on his cigar and continued. "Shot this young woman when we were out on patrol. We lost two guys to booby traps and we wanted revenge. God, the screams." Urahara gazed at his shotgun with a disgusted look.

Urahara got up and put his hand on Ichigo's shoulder saying, "Don't be like me, try and hang on to as much youthful innocence as you can. The world has enough heartless killers."

Urahara walked away, leaving Ichigo to finish his beer and think about what he had said.

* * *

Author's notes:

The M-79 grenade launcher was sometimes called the "thump gun" or "blooper" due to the distinctive sound it makes when fired.

During the Vietnam War, the line between enemy and civilian was often unclear. Women, and sometimes even children worked for the Viet Cong. Ichigo attacked the woman because he was in an adrenalin-fueled frenzy and was anxious to avenge Kira's death.

Mama-san: slang term for any asian woman


	18. Meet the Press

Thank you to all who read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed it (andraq in particular).

Notes on the text: this chapter is really just a short filler chapter made to help lighten the mood after the three very dark and gorey chapters. Fullmetal Jacket refrences abound.

Enjoy

* * *

February 21, 1968; 1305 local time; Aid Station, Cholon District, Saigon, Vietnam 

Ichigo sat on a crate eating his lunch and drinking a beer when he saw three men walk up to the aid station. They all looked to be in their late twenties, they wore army uniforms but carried no weapons. Instead of weapons they carried video equipment; the first man carried a black video camera, the second man carried a pole with a microphone at the end, and the third carried the film. The men walked over to Urahara and started talking with him, Ichigo couldn't hear what they were saying but he could guess that they were doing interviews. The men set up the camera equipment and started asking everyone questions.

"What's it like fighting here?" The man carrying the film asked.

"When we're in Saigon, it's... it's like a war... or umm what I thought a war was supposed ta' be... ya' know, there's the enemy, kill 'em." Gin said looking very uncomfortable. "No futha' questions please."

The men moved on to Ichigo, who waved them off with his hand. Ishida, who was sitting next to Ichigo and cleaning his rifle, asked a question.

"Can I quote LBJ here?" He asked.

"Sure" said the cameraman.

"(Ahem) I will not send American boys eight or ten thousand miles away to do a job Asian boys outta' be doing for themselves." Ishida said in a voice that was dripping with irony.

The crew moved on to Gunz, they asked him if he thought the US belongs in Vietnam.

"Does the US belong in Vietnam? I don't know... I belong in Vietnam, I'll tell you that." He said, spinning the cylendar on one of his revolvers.

The men moved on to Chad, who rather politely declined to be questioned. Renji gladly took up the opportunity.

"I always wanted to travel to exotic Vietnam... the jewel of southeast Asia... I wanted to meet interesting and stimulating people of an ancient culture... and kill them..." Renji said, in a rather light-hearted, sarcastic manner,

"I wanted to be the first kid on my block to get a confirmed kill..."

* * *

I will be taking a vacation to Mexico for a week or so, expect the next update to be late. 

Author's note: LBJ actually said something that was similar to what I wrote.

LBJ: Lyndon B. Johnson, the person who became president after John F. Kennedy was assassinated.


	19. You can Take a Soldier out of the Jungle

Thank you to all who read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed it.

Notes on the text: I skipped much of the rest of Ichigo's first tour in order to speed the plot up a little bit. There will be many references to certain parts of Washington state, because I live there.

Enjoy

* * *

December 9, 1968; 1829 local time; Tacoma, Washington, United States 

Ichigo's tour of duty was over, he had been sent home; but the inquisitive young boy who had arrived in Vietnam over a year ago was gone. The youthful softness in his skin was gone, replaced by calloses and lean muscle. He looked older, his face was marked by worry lines. His eyes lost their sparkle and gained a glazed appearance.

Everyone was going home, except Urahara, Renji (who extended their tours), and Gin (whose tour wasn't finished). They were the exceptions not the rule...

No more war, no more booby traps, no more ambushes, no more jungle rot...

Home...

After arriving in San Fransisco, he caught a plane to Washington state. He chose to go to Washington because he had family there. Sadly, Ichigo didn't talk to his family after he arrived; even though they lived nearby. Ichigo and his father had not been on good terms after Ichigo joined the Army... against his father's wishes.

He used the money he got from the Army and rented an apartment in downtown Tacoma. The apartment had three rooms, the first room was a living room/kitchen. A table, a chair, a stove, and a refrigerator stood against the wall on the linoleum covered floor of the kitchen. The living room part had a couch and a sliding glass door that led to a small balcony overlooking Puget Sound. The second room was the bedroom which had a small bed, a ceiling fan, and a small closet. The last room was the bathroom, it consisted of a toilet, sink, and small shower with linoleum flooring.

Ichigo took out his belongings from a storage unit, loaded it all into his black Ford F-Series pickup truck, and made himself at home. He hung up his combat and dress uniforms in his closet and pushed them to the side of the rack. Ichigo took out an old, faded, family picture and put it on his nightstand. The picture showed Ichigo, his father, his two sisters Yuzu and Karin... and his mother. Ichigo let out a slight sigh as he remembered the day he got the news of the horrible car accident. The last things he took out were his Winchester Model 70 bolt-action .30-06 rifle, which he put into his closet; and his personal M-1911, which he placed in the drawer of his nightstand.

After getting situated in his new home, Ichigo decided to go out and get a drink. He put on his uniform (in order to get a military discount) and started down the street. He walked down the sidewalk along the busy roadway. As he walked towards the bar, he occasionally saw people look at him and whisper to one another. Others just looked at him with disgust, sneering at him as he walked by.

Ichigo walked into a bar, sat down and ordered a beer. The bartender looked him over and said, "Sorry, we don't serve minors."

Ichigo had forgotten that the legal drinking age was 21 and he was only 19. Ichigo left the bar with a frustrated sigh and walked down the street to go back home. The sun was starting to set as he made his way down the streets towards his apartment. He felt that a great injustice had been done to him. If he was old enough to get shot at in some country ten thousand miles away, why couldn't he get a single drop of alcohol when he got back home?

Ichigo turned on the celing fan and layed down on the bed. He stared at the fan for a while, thinking. The fan's blades moved slowly around in a circle, reminding Ichigo of the rotors of the Hueys he rode in Vietnam...

-----------------------------------

December 14, 1968; 1733 local time; Tacoma, Washington, United States

It was Friday, and Ichigo came home from his new job at the Port of Tacoma with his first paycheck. He cashed the check and went to to buy some basic necessities for a weekend hunting trip he was planning. Ichigo had always loved the outdoors when he was young. He had spent many a weekend out hunting on the property his family owned in the mountains. He thought that a hunting trip would help him relax and take his mind off the problems he had with getting back into civilian life.

He drove over to the store and picked up three boxes of .30-06 cartrages, gun oil, and new hiking boots. Ichigo liked his new boots. They were soft and comfortable, unlike the jungle boots he was issued in Vietnam. They also would not rot and fall off in a matter of months due to high humidity. He remembered when his boots wore out during the fifth month of his tour, he had to use a pair of "Ho Chi Mihn sandals" until he got back to the supply depot.

He went back to his apartment and packed his bag. He put in warm clothes, camping gear, a sleeping bag, and his ammunition in a green duffle bag and put it inside the cab. He put his rifle on a rack inside the cab of the truck on the back window.

After making a few final preparations he started the truck and headed toward the mountains.

* * *

Jungle rot: a condition similar to athlete's foot, but not limited to feet. It is caused by fungus and was common among soldiers due to Vietnam's humid climate. 

Ho Chi Mihn sandals: sandals worn by the NVA and VC, the soles were commonly made from old tires


	20. Can't Take the Jungle out of a Soldier

A few words from the author: Wow, twenty chapters. . . I honestly never expected to write so much. I would like to thank you all who read my story, and thank everyone who reviewed it. I really appreciate reviews, believe it or not I actually enjoy reading (and re-reading) them.

Enjoy

* * *

December 16, 1968; 1043 local time; 20 miles out of Mineral, Washington, United States 

Ichigo arrived at the family property and opened the metal gate that stood across the driveway. The ground was covered with snow and the sky was filled with clouds. The property that Ichigo's family owned was about ten acres of forest land, they set six acres aside for personal use and sold the lumber on the remaining four acres every twenty years. The forest on the remaining six acres was think with alder trees and undergrowth with tall evergreens scattered liberally throughout. Ichigo drove through the snow on the overgrown gravel road until he came to the campsite. The campsite was a small clearing consisting of a cabin, a firepit and a sheltered picnic table. Ichigo got out of his truck and stepped into the deep white snow. He picked up his bag and gun and entered the cabin.

The cabin consisted of a kitchen with linoleum flooring and wooden cabinets, a wooden floored living room, a bathroom, a bedroom that his parents always slept in and an upstairs loft, where his sisters would sleep. On Ichigo's right side he saw the fireplace. There was a couch to his left (his traditional sleeping spot), and a table in front of him. There was no electricity, the Ichigo would have to light a lantern and hang it on the hook above the table. This cabin was full of memories for Ichigo, he remembered "helping" his father build the cabin when he was only about six years old. He remembered the first time his father took him out hunting almost three years ago. He remembered coming back from that trip with nothing but tired feet, but happy to have spent time with his dad.

Ichigo sat down at the table and opened one of the boxes of ammunition. He took out five bullets one by one and loaded them into his rifle. Ichigo then pulled out his winter camoflage jacket and other warm clothing. He put the jacket and other clothing on. Ichigo then took out a backpack with food, ammo, and survival gear and slung it over his shoulder. He picked up his rifle and stepped out into the snow. Ichigo walked from the cabin and moved into the forest.

The forest was quiet, the sounds were muffled by the knee-deep snow. Ichigo unconciously walked with his rifle at the ready, his eyes darted this way and that searching for anything. His muscles were tense, ready to spring and fire the moment he saw any sign of an enemy. . .

_Wait. . ._ Ichigo thought _what enemies? there were no enemies. . ._

Ichigo shook his head, this was America, he was home, there were no enemies. Habits that he learned in the jungle would be hard to break.

The snow laden branch of a nearby tree dropped some of its snow, the falling clumps of snow caused a rustle in the underbrush near Ichigo's right side. Ichigo jumped, whirled around, and started firing randomly into the underbrush. Then he heard a clicking sound coming from his rifle, he was empty. Ichigo sighed and wondered if he would ever get back into the swing of civilan life.

Ichigo decided to go back to the cabin and wait a while, the shooting probably scared off any deer within a mile from his location and he was getting a little bit cold.

Ichigo entered the cabin and sat down at the table. He pulled out his gun cleaning kit and started cleaning his weapon. As he wiped the black residue from the chamber; he thought about Ishida, always cleaning his rifle whenever he had the chance. Ishida told him that it was his way of coping with stress, in a way it was what alcohol was to Ichigo. Ichigo finished cleaning his rifle and looked at it. Before Vietnam he saw his rifle as a prized posession, a symbol of maturity and responsibility. Now he saw it as a tool of death and destruction, a symbol of hatred. . .

-----------------------------------

January 4, 1969; 1809 local time; Downtown Tacoma, Washington, United States

Ichigo walked along the sidewalk towards the post office. It was a particularly cold and rainy evening and Ichigo wanted mail his letter and get home quickly. The letter was adressed to his father, in it Ichigo said that he was sorry for making him worry and that he wanted to come back and see him. He turned left at the street corner and saw several people in rain gear marching around the post office, they held signs and chanted "Hell no, we won't go." over and over. They were trying to stop the flow of draft cards.

As Ichigo pushed through the crowd his raincoat became undone, revealing his military uniform. One of the people saw his uniform and shouted "Hey, everyone, look at the baby-killer!". The people immidiately turned on Ichigo shouting insults, throwing trash, and spitting on him. Ichigo tried to ignore the abuse and mail the letter, but after five minutes of being spit on and insulted. . .

Ichigo snapped.

Ichigo's muscles tightened, his fist clenched, crinkling the letter in his hand. Ichigo dropped the letter. As the letter hit the ground, Ichigo's fist found the face of the man closest to him. Ichigo started lashing out violently at anyone close. Ichigo found the man who had shouted and started the whole mess. In a blind rage Ichigo attacked the man, throwing him on the wet sidewalk and proceeding to punch him mercilessly in the face. Ichigo took all his frustrations, all his hatred, all his anger out on the man's face.

Ichigo was arrested on three counts of assault and battery. Ichigo sat in the police station, the man he had beat up was in the hospital. Ichigo had given the man two black eyes, a broken nose, a broken jaw, seven missing teeth, and severe trauma to the back of the head when he threw the man on the sidewalk. Ichigo went before a judge and pleaded guilty to the crimes. Ichigo offered to go back to Vietnam instead of prison or fines.

The judge looked at Ichigo's records. "Let's see. . . three months in Rukongai. . . Tet offensive. . . four months in Saigon. . . five months in Boun Ma Thout. . . Kid, you've been through some bad fights, do you really want to go back?"

Ichigo responded. "Since I came back here I've had almost nothing but people shouting, spitting and throwing garbage at me. When I was in Vietnam, people spat and threw garbage at me sometimes. . .

The only difference was, in Vietnam. . .

I could kill them. . ."


	21. Back to the Jungle

A few words from the author: blah blah blah... Thanks for reading... blah blah blah... I like reviews... blah blah blah...

To all my readers: May 28 is Memorial day, please take some time to remember those who have served their country and paid the ultimate price so that the world could be safe.

Notes on the text: Due to a large amount of Bleach characters dodging my fanfiction's draft, I have been forced to look to other animes/mangas to find suitable recruits (read: disposible characters/redshirts/cannon fodder). Name/gender/age might be changed slightly.

Enjoy

* * *

January 10, 1969; 1239 local time; 1 mile outside Ruknogai Outpost, Vietnam 

Ichigo sat on his helmet in the Chinook. He was going back to Rukongai, hopefully to rejoin Urahara and Renji.

The Chinook landed on one of the dirt helipads and Ichigo and the rest of the men got out. Ichigo put on his helmet, the cloth covering on his helmet bore the message "Make War Not Love". Ichigo walked over to his old bunkhouse and opened the door. Urahara was sitting on a chair with his feet on top of one of the round tables. Urahara's boonie hat was covering his face and his hands were folded on his chest. Gunz was fast asleep in his bunk, snoring intermittently. Renji, Gin, and four other men wearing camoflage fatigues sat at the other table playing cards and smoking cigarettes. Renji and Gin were sitting next to each other. On Renji's right side was a skinny person with deeply tanned skin and black hair, his name was Miles. Next to him sat another man, he had fair skin and black hair, he wore a pair of black sunglasses, Iba T. was his name, but everyone called him T-bone. To the right of him sat another man with light skin and dark brown hair; his dog tags read "Martin Ross", but everyone called him Marty. The man to the left of Gin had fair skin and dirty blonde hair. His name was Jean Havoc.

Urahara heard the door open and lazily lifted the brim of his hat with his finger to see who it was. He slowly got out of his chair and shook Ichigo's hand and patted him on the back.

"Back for round two, eh?" Urahara said. "Can't say I'm not a little dissapointed. Oi! Gin, Renji, look who the cat dragged in."

Renji got up and greeted Ichigo with a pat on the shoulder and a handshake, Gin waved from his seat.

"I'd like to introduce you to our new support gunner Ichigo." Urahara said. "Ichigo; that's Miles, T-bone, Marty, and Havoc." Urahara indicated each man respectively.

Ichigo went to the armory and picked up his weapons, he then went to go get some chow at the mess hall. As Ichigo sat down and ate the "food", he reflected on why he had come back. He didn't enjoy killing, the weather was almost unbearable, the food was sub-par at best (though he did get free beer that was paid for by the army, but it was also sub-par), and he really didn't feel like dying. Ichigo thought about all these things and came to the conclusion that he had forgotten something. . . something he should have taken with him when he left. . .

. . . but what was it?

* * *

Make War Not Love: a corruption of the popular anti-war slogan "Make Love Not War" 


	22. Into the Night

Author's pitifully obvious attempt to try and get more reviews: A big thank you everyone who read my story, and a bigger thank you to everyone who reviewed.

Author's pitiful excuses for not updating more frequently: Command and Conquer: Generals (a pretty decent RTS), writer's block, Volunteer work at the local salmon hatchery, summer vacations. . . the list goes on.

Enjoy

* * *

February 7, 1969; 2103 local time; 30 miles East of the Vietnam/Cambodia border 

The night was dark, clouds obscured the moon and stars. The jungle had an eerie dark blue tint. A lone helicopter flew above the jungle.

Ichigo looked out the open door as sat in the Huey with the rest of his squad. Renji, Urahara, and T-bone sat next to him. Kotsubaki and Kiyone were at the controls and Doorman leaned on his machinegun scanning the night. Across from Ichigo sat Miles, Marty, Jean, and Al (who replaced Gin after his tour expired). His proper name was Allen D. Teppes, he came from Nome, Alaska. He had black hair and a rather pale complexion. He carried an M-16 and a very large pistol, it was a heavily modified Ruger "Blackhawk" revolver capable of firing the powerful .454 Casull (the most powerful handgun bullet at the time).

Ichigo's squad had been sent on a reconisance and harassment mission. Their job was to ambush or call air strikes on any convoy they saw coming into Vietnam from Cambodia. The helicopter reached the LZ and everyone got out. They landed in a field of very tall grass next to the thick jungle. Urahara ordered everyone into the jungle and dig in for the night. The men dug their foxholes in a circular pattern into the slightly damp earth.

"Alright, Ichigo and I will take first watch. Renji, Miles, take next watch. Marty, T-bone, after them. Al, Havoc, take last watch." Urahara said as he indicated each pair of men. "Havoc!" Urahara barked, "No Smoking!" (1)

Jean took a short puff on his cigarette before throwing it on the ground and stomping it out.

Ichigo put down his machinegun's bipod and set it up on the side of his foxhole. Ichigo put on his passive night vision goggles (2) and gazed out of his foxhole onto the green world. Suddenly he saw something out of the corner of his goggles. . .

It was movement in the undergrowth. . .

Ichigo picked his machinegun up and put it down straight in front of the rustling bushes.

The bushes continued to rustle for a few seconds and then stopped. . .

Ichigo scanned the area and saw the small shape of a rat moving out of the bushes. Ichigo sighed, this was going to be a long two hours.

* * *

Author's notes: 

It was a well known fact that the Viet Cong and NVA used "neutral" Cambodia and Laos as safe havens from the Americans. The Americans were not allowed to pursue them into a "neutral" country. It should be noted that during the later years of the war, President Nixon had ordered secret bombing of communist sanctuaries, and eventually invaded Cambodia itself.

(1): the burning of a cigarette could give away a person's position and presented a tempting target for a sniper.

(2): the night vision goggles used during the Vietnam-era made everything appear different shades of green.


	23. Superior Firepower?

A few words from the author: Thank you to all who read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed it.

Warnings: contains blood

Enjoy

* * *

February 14, 1969; 1237 local time; Somewhere East of the Cambodian border 

Ichigo's squad had been in the bush for a full week, during that time he had seen nothing. Absolutely nothing, no enemy whatsoever. The only thing that they found were a few tripwires and a couple punji pits (1). They had been steadily moving in a southern direction, setting up ambushes on paths during most nights. Today they plodded a path through the ferns and shrubs of the jungle undergrowth in the stifling heat of the afternoon. The sun beamed down from above, making trails of light as it shone through the canopy. Marty was on point, he crept along the path, his eyes scanning the area for any sign of danger.

Marty raised his hand, everyone stopped.

"Booby trap." Marty whispered and pointed to the small wire that was stretched across the trail at about shoulder height, the wire was holding back a bamboo spiked device that would swing outward and stab the person unforturnate enough to have broken the wire. The device resembled a green bamboo grid with sharpened bamboo stakes attached at the crossings of the green grid. Marty got out of the way and carefully cut the wire with his knife.

Nothing happened.

Marty bent down and examined the wire, there was nothing extraordinary about it. He stood up and looked forward, unknowingly triggering the trap. Within nanoseconds of standing up the bamboo swung out and caught him in the torso. His green shirt slowly aquired black stains as blood flowed out from the places where the spikes had pierced his body. Slowly the lifeless form started to slump over the spikey green picket fence. Urahara ordered Ichigo and Renji to take down the body. Ichigo took Marty's dog tags and put them in his pocket. They divided up the contents of his pack and called in for a helicopter to evacuate the body and bring in a replacement.

That night the jungle heard small sounds of weeping.

----------------------------------------------

February 17, 1969; 1403 local time; somewhere East of the Cambodian border

_Ishida?_

Ichigo couldn't believe his eyes; the black haired, four-eyed marksman that had come to Rukongai with Ichigo back in 1967 had jumped out of the huey. Al and Havoc loaded Marty's slightly smelly body bag into the helicopter.

"Hey, look who wanted a second helping of the shit!" Urahara said, greeting Ishida with a friendly expression and a chuckle.

Ishida greeted his old comrades and got to know the replacements.

---------------------------------------------

February 18, 1969; 1348 local time; somewhere East of the Cambodian border

The men in Ichigo's squad were high on a jungle covered cliff having a late lunch. The afternoon sun shone down on the valley they were patroling. The lush green valley spread out below the men following the course of the muddy brown Nung river (2). Ichigo, Renji, Al, Miles and Havoc were sitting in a circle on their helmets eating. A gentle breeze wafted the tall bamboo plants and rustled the leaves on the trees. Urahara and Ishida were on the edge of the cliff looking down at the valley.

Urahara saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned to his right, and saw a faint cloud in the distance coming from the west, he looked in his binoculars. There were several dust clouds, Urahara zoomed in and saw what he guessed were vehicles.

"Renji! get that radio over here!" Urahara said, beaconing to Renji.

Renji got onto his radio and called the fire control center.

"Thunder, this is Delta, enemy convoy spotted, grid reference Alpha, Bravo, Niner." Renji said.

A voice crackled over the radio, "Delta, this is Thunder, targets confirmed, Big Birds on the way, estimated time to arrival, 30 minutes. Sit back and enjoy the show gentlemen."

"Big Birds are on the way, orders are to sit tight and enjoy the show." Renji said to Urahara.

"Anybody bring popcorn? I'm all out." Al asked.

After what seemed like hours they saw two giant planes, B-52 Stratofortressess (3). The bellies of the metal giants opened up and countless bombs began to fall. The noise was deafening as the bombers pounded the jungle below. The bombers turned around and dropped more bombs, and then went over the area a third time before heading back to Thailand (4).

The men looked at the destruction, a patch of jungle as wide as a four-lane highway (5) had been completely devastated.

Ichigo and his squad climbed down and walked over to the site where the bombs had fell, there were craters so large that when Ichigo climbed into one, he could not see anything except sky. They looked around for any survivors, there were none. The only things they found were vehicles that were destroyed beyond all recognition and two or three unidentifiable human body parts.

That night Ichigo felt glad that he was not a VC.

* * *

(1) punji pits were pits dug into the ground with punji stakes inside, these pits were covered with a flimsy top that would cause a person to fall in, possibly impaling themselves. 

(2) I doubt there is a real Nung river, but I needed to call it something

(3) the B-52 was the biggest bomber in the US arsonal, it could carry up to 60,000 lbs. (27,200 kg.) of bombs, mines, missles, and other explosives.

(4) B-52's origionally were deployed from Guam, and then in 1967 the US got permission to use Tapao Airfield in Thailand, which made the trip much shorter.

(5) four lanes each direction, so it's really much more like an eight-lane highway


	24. The Darkest Night

blah blah blah thanks for reading, blah blah blah big thanks to those who review.

Notes on the text: "T" envelope pushed; contains violence, blood, and questionable conduct towards female Prisoners Of War (POW's).

Obligatory words to cover my arse: **NO OFFENSE IS MENT TO ANY VIETNAMESE PERSON, EVENTS DESCRIBED IN THIS STORY ARE PURELY FICTIONAL ANY RESEMBLENCE TO REAL EVENTS IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?**

Underlined words are spoken Vietnamese translated into English

Enjoy

* * *

March 1, 1969; 2103 local time; East of Cambodia 

The night was dark, clouds obscured the moon and stars. The jungle had an eerie dark blue tint. A lone helicopter flew above the jungle.

Ichigo looked out the open door as sat in the Huey with the rest of his squad. Renji, Urahara, and T-bone sat next to him. Kotsubaki and Kiyone were at the controls and Doorman leaned on his machinegun scanning the night. Across from Ichigo sat Miles, Ishida, Jean, and Jack (Al got his foot blown off by a booby trap and was evacuated).

They were now about five minutes out of the extraction point. Ichigo secured his pistol, knife and flashlight onto his person. Suddenly the thwump-thwump sound of the helicopter rotors was interrupted by the sound of gunfire. Bullets tore through the hull of the helicopter and straight into T-bone's chest. T-bone let out a dying gasp as blood drenched his camoflage shirt. Everyone started panicking as more bullets pierced the aircraft.

Doorman started firing wildly into the dark jungle below. Suddenly more shots rang out, green soviet-made tracers flew from the jungle below. The bullets hit the cockpit, Kotsubaki's flight helmet erupted in a mess of plastic, blood, brain and bone fragments which splattered the window of the cockpit. The nose of helicopter started tilting forward, Kiyone looked over and saw why. Kotsubaki's limp form had fallen forward onto the controls. Kiyone pushed him off of them and saw the gaping bloody hole in the upper right part of his head and a small trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. Kiyone started shouting into a radio handset. "Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is Night Hawk! Mayday Night Hawk! We are taking heavy ground fire! Pilot is down! Our position is two miles west of LZ Blue!"

Suddenly a large fireball erupted from the top of the helicopter. The engine was hit!

The force of the blast knocked Ichigo from his position near the door and sent him hurling toward the ground. Time seemed to slow down as Ichigo flailed wildly in mid-air. His chest hit a large tree branch, knocking the wind out of him and throwing his head onto another branch, then everything went black. . .

---------------------------------

March 1, 1969; 2242 local time; East of Cambodia

Ichigo slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was sprawled on his back, laying in the underbrush. He felt the wet jungle ground on his back and a slight draft coming from his shirt, which was torn from his right shoulder to his left hip. As his eyes became used to the darkness he began to pick out shapes of foliage and trees. Ichigo got up and saw an orange glow off in the distance. Ichigo felt around his body and unholstered his pistol before making his way towards the light. Ichigo tried to be as quiet as he could, but he could not stop from making the leaves rustle beneath is feet, or the short branches and leaves of the undergrowth from brushing against him.

Ichigo pushed through the jungle, then he saw what was making the orange glow. . .

_Fire_. . .

Ichigo approached the flames and saw three men siloetted against the flames, Ichigo stopped and stayed very quiet. They were speaking to eachother, but Ichigo couldn't understand what they were saying.

"Look who it is,"one of the men said said as he picked up Urahara by the collar. The man wore a conical "chinese" hat, or at least Ichigo assumed that's what it was. Urahara was barely alive, he was covered in bruises and had a trickle of dry blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Are you sure that's him?" the man next to him asked.

"This is the man who killed my brother in Saigon. I'd recognize him anywhere." The man in the hat said. He threw Urahara to the ground and pulled out his AK-47. The man then proceeded to empty the entire clip into Urahara's chest.

The three men then led three other people off into the jungle.

Ichigo waited for a while before breaking cover, he crept toward the wreckage. Ichigo noted the large holes in the sides of the aircraft as he walked towards it. Ichigo walked closer to the crash site; then he stepped on something, he couldn't tell what it was. Ichigo turned on his flashlight and shined it down near his foot, Ichigo immidiately regretted doing so. Ichigo was standing on someone's neck. The small circle of light illuminated the man's lifeless face. . .

Havoc. . .

The man's face was barely recognizable, there were deep gashes and cuts all over. One of his eyes looked straight at Ichigo, the other was rolled back. Ichigo supressed the urge to throw up, but just barely. . .

Ichigo crept over to Urahara's barely recognizable body. Ichigo closed his eyes and unsuccesfully tried not to cry. As the feelings of sadness subsided, a new feeling came over him. . .

_Anger_. . .

Pure, Raw, Unadulterated Anger. . .

Ichigo knew what he would do. He would find the man who did this, he would make him pay. . .

He would pay dearly. . .

Ichigo went through Urahara's pockets and found a small container of black facepaint. Ichigo covered his face, painted it black. He then painted his arms black before setting out into the night after the men.

------------------------------

March 2, 1969; 0012 local time; East of Cambodia

Ichigo crept silently on the fresh trail that was made by the six people. Soon he saw another orange glow through the bushes. . .

He peeked through the leaves and saw two people sitting around a campfire in a very small clearing. Next to them Ichigo saw two straight trees. . . wait, those weren't trees. Those were the barrels of a twin mount Anti-Aircraft gun with foliage stuck on the ends for camoflage. Next to the two men at the campfire were three people; they sat in a circle with their hands behind their backs, their ankles tied together, and gags tied in their mouths. Ichigo recognised them; Ishida, Renji and Kiyone. The man in the conical hat who had killed Urahara was standing next to them, weapon at the ready.

One of the men who was sitting by the campfire stood up and walked over to Kiyone, he grabbed her hands and pulled her up to her feet.

"What are you doing?" the man in the hat asked.

"I'm going to go and 'interrogate' the prisoner." the man said with a wink.

The man in the hat nodded and looked the other way as Kiyone was led toward Ichigo and the jungle. Ichigo quietly slipped a safe distance away. The man threw Kiyone onto the ground with a lustful grin. Kiyone tried to scream but her gag muffled any noise she tried to make. Tears formed as she closed her eyes tightly and waited for the inevitable. The man had just unzipped her dirty flight jacket and was about to continue when a pair of black hands appeared behind him. The hands seemed to be part of the darkness itself as they slowly grabbed the man's head and neck.

Kiyone heard a muffled _crack_ and opened her eyes, two black hands held the man's head. The head of the man was twisted at an unnatrual angle and a pair of black hands holding the limp body. She looked up and saw a pair of eyes, but she couldn't recognise them, they looked. . .

_Demonic_. . .


	25. Terror in The Darkness

A few words from the author: Thank you to all who read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed it.

Warning: this story contains blood and Lead (a substance known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm).

Enjoy

* * *

March 2, 1969; 0028 local time; East of Cambodia 

Ichigo dropped the body and took off his helmet. He then tried to calm Kiyone

"Shhhhhhh, Kiyone, It's me, Ichigo." He said as he put his finger to his lips. Kiyone quieted down and Ichigo cut her bonds. "Kiyone, stay here and wait for me, I'm going to go and get the others." Ichigo whispered, he gave her his pistol, put on his helmet and dissappeared into the night.

Ichigo crept back to the foliage near the clearing and formulated a devious plan. First he would lure the man near the campfire into the jungle, then he would kill him. He would not make it a clean kill like the last time, that would be a job for his knife. He would make sure there was lots of loud screams, and then out of nowhere he would jump out of the bushes and finish the man in the hat.

Ichigo was about to put his plan into motion when he saw the man next to the fire get up, the man in the hat handed the other man his AK-47 and walked over next to the fire. The man laid down near the fire and put his hat over his face.

Ichigo waited for a half hour before creeping through the bushes behind the man guarding the two prisoners. He slipped silently out of the bushes, cupped his hand over the man's mouth and put the blade his knife right on the man's neck. The man froze, dropped his weapon, and started breathing rapidly. Renji and Ishida looked up at the man and saw the black hands and face. They were terrified.

Ichigo slowly cut into the man's neck with his knife, letting the blood slowly flow out of the freshly opened veins and arteries onto his blade. It oozed over the hilt of the knife and onto Ichigo's fingers. Ichigo cut deeper, letting the blood flow down the man's windpipe before dropping him on the ground and leaving him to drown in his own blood.

Ichigo looked at his blood-covered hands. The wetness of fresh blood seemed to give him a feeling of power. He cast a menacing look at the sleeping man in the hat. Ichigo snuck over to the man. He got onto his knees next to the sleeping man, with his left hand he slowly lifted the hat while the point of the knife in his right hand came up against the man's chest.

"Wakey wakey, you commie bastard!" Ichigo shouted.

The man's eyes shot open he saw the black face of Ichigo. He screamed and started to fight back before Ichigo plunged the knife into his chest. Ichigo removed the knife and stabbed him again, and again, and again. Ichigo's brain was saturated with adrenalin as he psychotically stabbed, slashed, and hacked at the man.

_Stab. . ._

_Slash. . ._

_Kill. . ._

Ishida and Renji had managed to free themselves and ran over to Ichigo. They grabbed his arms and pulled him away from the bloody mess the was once a person. Ichigo was breathing irregularly and his eyes were starting to glaze over. Then in one final effort Ichigo wrestled out of Ishida's and Renji's hands, lunged at the man on the ground and plunged his knife into the forehead of the bloody corpse. The blade penetrated skin and skull. Ichigo let out a hoarse laugh before passing out from exhaustion.

----------------------------------------

March 2, 1969; 0545 local time; East of Cambodia

Ichigo slowly opened his eyes and felt a prodding sensation in his arm.

"Rise and shine sleeping beauty." Renji said.

"Ungh? eh? Where, Where am I?" Ichigo slowly raised his painted head and looked around. He was sprawled on his stomach in the clearing, he looked to his left and saw Kiyone sleeping with her head on Ishida's lap while the marksman gingerly ran his fingers through her hair. The light of the nearby fire reflected off of his glasses. Ichigo got up onto his hands and knees before sitting up. He took out a bottle of mosquito repellent and a sock. He put the repellent on the sock and started wiping the paint off his face and arms.

"So, Renji what are we going to do now?" Ichigo asked.

"I was sorta' hoping you'd know." Renji said.

"You're the commanding officer, _Sergent._" Ichigo said.

Renji looked as if a huge burden was just dropped on his shoulders. His head sank into his hands, Ichigo was right.

"Ichigo, I can't command." Renji said. "You know as well as I do that I can't."

"It doesn't matter." Ichigo said with concern in his voice.

"Fine, as commanding officer I relieve myself of command and hand it over to you." Renji said, looking at Ichigo with pleading in his eyes.

"Alright, I'll do it." Ichigo said.

"I'll follow you into the pits of hell, sir." Renji said as he saluted.

"Me too, I'll follow until the bitter end" Ishida said.


	26. Silence of the Grave

A few words from the author: Thank you to all who read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed it.

Warning side effects include: jungle rot, crotch crickets, fleabites, diarria, malarya and gunshot wounds. Fanfiction is not for everyone, consult your doctor before using.

Enjoy

* * *

March 2, 1969; 0938 local time; East of Cambodia 

"Now that everyone's rested, let's see what we've got in terms of supplies." Ichigo said.

Everyone searched the area, looking for anything that could be eaten, worn, or used as a weapon. They brought what they could carry back to the clearing.

Ichigo found an AK-47 with about 5 clips, two combat knives, and five C-ration cans. Renji came back with Ichigo's M-60 with about 300 rounds, a 5-pound bag of rice, Urahara's revolver with 24 shots, a compass, and a SKS carbine with about 10 5-round chargers. Ishida found his M-21 with about six clips, a pack of gum, an entrenching tool and three M-1911 pistols with seven clips. Kiyone had Ichigo's pistol with its clip, Urahara's shotgun with 35 shells, a map, a medkit and two bottles of iodine tablets (for water purification).

Ichigo looked at the meager provisions and sighed. He took the compass and map and tried to work out where they were.

"According to this map we are about 2500 miles from anywhere remotely friendly, I suggest we go South to the river and follow it to the coast. Anyone got a problem with that?" Ichigo said after looking at the map for a few minutes.

"Nope" Said Ishida.

"No problems here" said Renji.

"It's okay with me." Said Kiyone.

He ordered everyone back to the wrecked helicopter.

The crash site was even more atrocious during the day. Bodies were everywhere, many horribly maimed and mangled by the crash. Kiyone burst into tears and Ishida tried to comfort her. Ichigo took the entrenching tool and started digging a hole in the ground.

"What are you doing?" Renji asked.

"Digging graves." Ichigo responded.

"Why?" Renji asked.

"Because they don't deserve to be left out for the rats." Ichigo said.

-------------------------------

March 2, 1969; 1403 local time; East of Cambodia

Six mounds of red earth lined up in a row next to the crashed helicopters. Six crosses made out of sticks stuck out of the ground at one end of each mound. Six sets of dogtags hung, one on each cross.

Ichigo and his men brushed their hands off, and Ishida said a few words. "We knew these men well, they were our comrades, our friends, our brothers. . . These are men. . . men, who shared tears, hopes, dreams, and fears with us. What more could be said of men who gave their lives serving their country."

"Amen" Renji said.

Ichigo merely closed his eyes and gave a moment of silence before ordering everyone into the jungle towards the river. When Ishida, Renji and Kiyone were sufficiently far away Ichigo murmured one last phrase to his fallen comrades.

"I'll be back to bring you home, I promise."


	27. The Secretary of the Army Regrets

A few words from the author: readers are appreciated, reviewers are appreciated even more.

Allergy warning: This chapter was made in a factory that processes nut and fruit products.

Enjoy.

* * *

March 6, 1969; 1230 local time; Gig Harbor, Washington state, United States 

The noonday sun shone down on the bay of the harbor making the green water sparkle. The gentle breeze ruffled the sails of the sailboats out on the docks. A white two-story house with a patio-porch stood on a hill. A man, who looked to be about fourty years old, sat in a rocking chair on the porch, next to the chair was a small white table with a half-empty beer bottle. The man had black hair cut into a a neat flat top. His hands were folded behind his head as he enjoyed the view of the Puget Sound.

A yellow cab arrived and parked in front of the white house. A man wearing an army dress uniform stepped out. The man in the rocking chair jumped up, ran toward him and took him up in his arms hugging him tightly.

"Ichigo you're back." He said with a great beaming smile.

"Ummm, sir are you Isshin Kurosaki?" The man responded, in a rather suprised voice.

"I'm so sorry I disowned you, can you ever forgive me?" The man continued as if he hadn't heard.

The man in the uniform pushed the other man away rather violently, "I'm not Ichigo, I'm here on behalf of the United States Army here to deliver a telegram to a Mr. Isshin Kurosaki."

"That's me." Isshin said, his smile began to fade.

The man gave Isshin the telegram, "I'm sorry." was all he could say before turning around and getting back into the cab.

Isshin read the telegram slowly. . .

_Mr. Isshin Kurosaki, _

_The Secretary of the Army regrets. . ._

'Oh no, dear God. . . NO!' Isshin thought.

_The Secretary of the Army regrets to inform you that your son Cpl. Ichigo Kurosaki has been_

_reported missing and presumed dead in Vietnam since 2105 1 March 1969. His helicopter was _

_shot down while__ returning from a mission near Cambodia. Due to the remote location of the_

_helicopter, we have been unable to retrieve the remains to confirm his death. Please accept _

_our deepest sympathies __and regrets, your son died while proudly serving his country._

Isshin's hands trembled as he held the letter, tears welled up in his eyes. He was so sad that he failed to notice his young stawberry blonde and young black haired daughters that had come outside to investigate the commotion. They found their father on his knees with his face in his hands and a crumpled piece of paper next to him. The black haired girl picked up the piece of paper, but Isshin snatched it from her hand before she could read it.

"What's wrong daddy?" the strawberry blonde asked.

"Nothing Yuzu, just. . . just go inside.." Isshin said.

"What did the letter say?" The black haired girl asked.

"Nothing, Karin. . . j-j-just go inside. . . please." Isshin started sobbing. "Ichigo, Ichigo, why? Why did they take him away? My son. . . My only son"

Isshin unknowingly dropped the telegram again and Karin quietly picked it up before heading back into the house. When she got into the livingroom she started reading it. "_The Secretary of the Army regrets. . . your son. . . missing and presumed **DEAD**_" Karin stopped as soon as she came to the word 'dead'. Her heart sank to abyssmal levels and she, like her father started sobbing uncontrolably. Yuzu came to see why her sister was crying, she saw the paper on the floor next to Karin and her father holding her in his arms. Yuzu picked up the paper. Isshin let go of Karin and tried to stop Yuzu from reading the horrible message, but it was too late.

The next night, before going to sleep, the Kurosaki household put a framed picture of Ichigo on the wall. The frame had a plaque on the bottom, the plaque read "Ichigo Kurosaki: July 10, 1950 - March 1, 1969. The picture hung right next to another picture, a picture of a beautiful woman. She had long wavy red hair and a gorgeous smile that seemed to cast a loving glow all its own. This picture also had a plaque on the bottom of it. The plaque read "Masaki Kurosaki: June 17, 1929 - January 23, 1960". Underneath the picture was a table, the table had a vase with flowers inside and was flanked by two candles. Isshin put his daughters to bed and walked back to the picture of the woman. Isshin leaned over the table and kissed the picture on the lips.

"I'm sorry Masaki, I failed. I don't ask you to forgive me. I will never be able to forgive myself. . ." He said.


	28. The Bridge, The Boat, and The Sundae

A few words from the author: Thank you to all who read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed it.

Contains: Apocalypse Now refrences, lot's of them.

Warning: do not drive or operate heavy machinery while using this product as it could lead to rectal bleeding or serious liver problems.

Enjoy

* * *

March 7, 1969; 2204 local time; West of Do Long Bridge 

Ichigo and his men had made it to the river and were now on the perilous treck downstream. The banks of the Nung were covered with thick foliage, there were ferns, vines and various palm-like trees. Ichigo walked in front of the line, with Renji, Kiyone, and Ishida following close behind. Ichigo looked downstream, he thought he saw a a string of lights.

"Hey, Ishida, c'mere." Ichigo motioned.

"What is it?" Ishida asked.

"What can you see over there?" he said as he motioned to the lights.

Ishida raised his rifle and looked into the scope. He saw lightbulbs hanging on a string like christmas lights, the lights illuminated a metal structure, occasionally sparks flew down from the metal girders.

"It looks like a bridge of some sort." Ishida said.

"A bridge, out here in the middle of nowhere?" Ichigo asked.

"Looks like something we should check out." Renji said.

"Alright, Renji you're with me, Ishida take Kiyone and follow us at a distance." Ichigo said.

Ichigo and Renji made their way forward through the bushes. Soon they came to a muddy clearing with barbed and razor wire strung all over, occasionally there would be a corpse hanging from the wires. They started crawling under the wires when they heard a voice.

"Shit! We got Charlies on the wire. Get 'em!"

The air was filled with gunfire and orange tracers flew over Ichigo and Renji 's heads.

"You think you bad? You think you bad? Huh? Get some!"

"STOP SHOOTING WE'RE AMERICANS!!" Ichigo shouted with all of his might. The shooting stopped and a voice was heard.

"Show yourself!" a voice shouted.

Ichigo put down his weapon, raised his arms and stood up. A flashlight from a nearby trench shined up and down on Ichigo, revealing Ichigo's dirt caked fatigues and his tired, dirty face.

"Alright, your clear."

"I've got three other guys, I'll call 'em out, don't shoot!" Ichigo said. "Ishida, Kiyone, Renji! C'mon out!"

Slowly Renji stood up, Ishida and Kiyone came out of the jungle. They all walked over to the trench and climbed inside. The inside of the trench was illuminated by christmas lights, sitting behind a .50 caliber machinegun sat a black man with muddy green fatigues. Next to him sat another black man with a grenade launcher, it was painted orange and black, making it look like a tiger's tail.

"Where's the commander?" Ichigo asked.

"What commander, we have no commander." One of the men responded.

"Have you guys had any contact with the outside world?"

"The last contact we had was a PBR (1) going upriver that stopped to get fuel, but that was four days ago."

"Got a radio?"

"Busted"

"Food?"

"None that we can spare"

"Weapons?"

The man pointed to an AK-47 lying in the mud and ten clips sitting on a box.

"Ammo?"

"None that we can spare, other than the AK"

"Smokes?" Renji asked.

The man reached into the box he was sitting on, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and threw them to Renji.

"Thanks man." Renji said.

"Where the hell are we anyways?" Ishida asked.

"You're in da' asshole o' da' world man." The man with the grenade launcher said as he held one of his grenades and examined it. "Do Long bridge."

-----------------

March 12, 1969; 0923 local time; Nung River

Ichigo and his men left Do Long after getting what supplies they could, it turned out that Kiyone was able to trade her underwear for twenty C-rations, but other than the AK there was no extra ammo to be found. Ichigo left his M-60 in favor of the AK knowing that it would be a long time before they got anywhere where they could resupply.

They walked along the foliage of the shore when Ishida saw something, he motioned for them to stop before looking into his scope. It was a sampan (2), beached on the shore of the river. The sampan was about thirty feet long with a ten foot shelter made with bamboo and cloth. The cloth was a little frayed and tattered, it also had what appeared to be bullet holes. As they approached the boat they heard flies buzzing around, Ichigo ordered Ishida and Kiyone to stay back. Ichigo an Renji crept up to the boat, rifles at the ready. Ichigo peered into the boat and grimaced at what he saw. There were five bodies, about a week old. It looked like they were gunned down, judging from the bloodstained clothing. Seeing the body of a young girl with the head wound nearly made Ichigo throw up. Ichigo was repulsed by the scene, but he knew that the boat would make the trip down the river much easier.

Ichigo, Renji and Ishida took the bodies out of the boat and piled them up on the shore like chordwood. Ichigo ordered everyone into the sampan. Renji pushed off with an oar and they started floating down the muddy brown waters of the Nung.

------------------

March 19, 1969; 1230 local time; Nung River

The sampan floated very slowly down the river, Ichigo and his men were lounging in the shade of the tattered cloth shelter Ichigo an Renji were sitting on the port side. Ichigo had a large stick, a string was attached at one end, the other end of the string was in the water. Kiyone was laying with her head in Ishida's lap as the marksman leaned back on the wall of the boat.

"You know what I could really go for right now?" Renji asked.

"No, what could you go for right now?" Ishida asked as he gingerly ran his fingers through Kiyone's strawberry blonde hair.

"A huge rack of ribs. Grilled on an open flame and slathered in barbacue sauce." Renji said as his mouth started watering.

"Nah, gimme a big steaming platter of biscuts and gravy." Ishida said as he closed his eyes and smiled.

"I could really go for a nice big chocolate sundae, with chopped nuts and a cherry on top." Kiyone said.

As they were dreaming up meals in their minds, Ichigo felt a tug on the string. Ichigo began pulling in the line, he pulled up a two foot long brown catfish. Ichigo made a fire in one of their helmets and started cooking pieces the fish with sticks.

Ichigo handed one of the sticks to Kiyone.

"What's this?" She asked.

"It's a chocolate sundae." Ichigo responded.

* * *

(1) PBR: Patrol Boat, River "A type of plastic patrol boat, pretty common sight on the rivers." -Apocalypse Now 

(2) Sampan: A flat-bottomed boat commonly used by Vietnamese, somethimes sampans were used to transport enemy equipment and supplies.


	29. Sniper Shootout

A few words from the author: Thanks for reading and big thanks to reviewers

Note: More Apocalypse Now refrences

Warning: do not use this fanfiction for anything other than its original intended purpose. Intentional misuse of this product could lead to death, hallucinations, dizziness, mental retardation and in extreme cases a tendency to sing off-key Elvis songs in public while wearing nothing but a bathrobe, bunny slippers, and a rubber Richard Nixon mask.

Enjoy

* * *

March 21, 1969; 1030 local time; Nung River 

The sampan slowly drifted down the river, Ichigo and his men had been on the river for two weeks. The C-rations were all gone and they had been surviving on fish, bugs, and anything else they could scavange.

Ichigo's shirt and pants had been ruined, even Ishida couldn't repair them. He had taken the "black pajama" uniform off a dead VC and was wearing it for the time being. He found the loose-fitting black garments to be comfortable, if not a little unsettling. Ishida was able to patch the bullet holes in the shirt well enough. He still wore his helmet, he was the only one who did. They used Ishida's to make cooking fires in, and Renji used his mostly as something to sit on.

Ichigo noticed that Ishida and Kiyone were getting very close, he noticed how Kiyone had an almost magical effect on Ishida. She had a way of keeping him from getting too depressed, she also gave him a reason to survive.

Ichigo looked up from his spot on the boat and saw a wrecked wooden bridge, vines were growing all over the remains. He saw the waves, they broke left and right into eight foot peaks.

-------------

March 21, 1969; 1030 local time; Nung River Inlet (Formerly known as "Charile's Point")

The morning sun shone down through the trees onto what appeared to be two bushes. These "bushes" appeared to be made out of tattered fabric and random pieces of vegetation.

The bushes suddenly stood up and started moving, revealing two men, the bushes in question were really their ghillie suits (1). One of the men had short blonde hair covered by his ghillie suit, his face was covered in green, brown, and black facepaint. He carried his M-40 sniper rifle in his hands at the ready. The other man had short black hair covered by his ghillie suit, his face was also covered in green, brown and black paint. He carried a small Colt Commando carbine with a scope mounted on it and a radio underneath his suit.

The two-man sniper team walked slowly and silently through the underbrush and moved to an old bamboo guard tower that was overgrown with vegetation. They climbed up into the tower and one of the men (the shooter) put down the bipod on his rifle and layed down while the other man (the spotter) set up a small telescope on a tripod. The two men looked down at the river from their spot.

They stayed in their spot for only about five minutes when spotter saw something moving out of the corner of his telescope. He turned it to see a sampan.

"Hawk, we got a sampan down there."

The sniper moved his rifle so it was aimed at the small boat. He looked into the scope.

The sampan looked pretty worn, it's cloth shelter was faded and torn in some places. He saw an American "steel pot" helmet sticking above the wall of the boat. The man wearing the helmet stood up and walked to the other side of the boat and sit down again. He wore the "black pajama" uniform of the VC, and had an AK-47 strapped to his back.

"Looks like a VC sampan, it's about 500 yards away."

The sniper looked at the tattered fabric that was blowing slightly in the gentle breeze. The two dials in the middle of his scope clicked as he turned them to compensate for the wind. He turned the safety off an peered through his scope again. The crosshairs were zeroed in on his forehead. The sniper took a deep breath and his fingers tightened around the trigger. . .

-----------------

March 21, 1969; 1042 local time; Nung River Inlet (Formerly known as "Charlie's Point")

Ichigo heard the gunshot, but had no time to respond before he felt something hit his helmet and send it flying off the boat and into the water.

"Shit! Sniper! Get Down! Sniper!" Renji shouted.

Everyone in the boat went prone against the the deck of the sampan as Ichigo deliberated what to do. He peered over the side of the boat and looked around not knowing where the shot came from.

----------------

March 21, 1969; 1045 local time; Sniper position

"Did you see that?" The sniper asked as he worked the bolt on his rifle and chambered another round.

"You ever seen a VC with hair like that?" The spotter asked.

"I don't think that was a VC."

"I'll go check it out, cover me." The spotter said, climbing out of the tower and moving towards the river. He moved from obstacle to obstacle before going prone and crawling. He crawled to the bank among the vines and shouted. "Đi ra với những bàn tay các bạn lên trên hay Tôi sẽ đâm chồi (2)! Mau (3)! Mau!"

Two hands rose from the behind the side of the boat. A man with bright orange hair stood up.

"Do you speak English?" The spotter asked from his hiding spot.

"Yes" The orange haired man responded in a very American accent.

"Are you a VC?" The spotter asked as he revealed himself.

"No, I'm an American. Ichigo Kurosaki, I'm with the 19th infantry division (4), Delta company" the orange haired man responded.

"Is there anyone else on -" Before the spotter could finish his sentence they both heard a rifle crack and saw a big splash come from an area between the boat and the shore.

Ichigo jumped back down onto the deck as the spotter took cover.

"Shit! Tell your sniper buddy to knock it off!" Ichigo shouted.

"That wasn't Hawk, it came from the other side of the river."

---------------

March 21, 1969; 1100 local time; Sniper position

Hawk observed the action through his scope, he could see the man clearly enough to know with reasonable certainty that he was not a VC. He then saw the orange haired man and his partner take cover as they recieved sniper fire from the other side of the river.

Hawk surveyed the opposite bank through his scope and saw a black mass inside one of the trees. He turned the dials on his scope and squeezed the trigger.

The bullet traveled through the air and hit the black mass. The mass slumped over and fell out of the tree with a splash to be shot up by the people on the boat and the spotter.

---------------

March 22, 1969; 1230 local time; Nung river inlet

The huey picked up Ichigo, Ishida, Renji and Kiyone. Ichigo looked out of the side at the shrinking river. He felt glad to make it out alive, but in his heart he knew. . .

He would return to this hellish place, to bring back those who were lost. . .

* * *

(1) Ghillie suit: A suit worn by snipers, they usually were made of burlap and had native vegetation attached to them. They are excellent camoflage, but it can get unbearably hot inside. 

(2) Vietnamese for "Come out with your hands up or I will shoot." (possibly out of syntaxe)

(3) Mau: Vietnamese for "quickly"

(4) There is no 19th infantry division in the US army, I made it up to make things easier.


	30. The Wedding and the Dream

A few words from the author: readers are appreciated, reviewers are appreciated even more.

Now with less violence but more kinky sex and nudity for a cleaner, and saner America (just kidding).

Warning: The first part contains blood, guts and gore. . . lots and lots of it

Enjoy.

* * *

Date: unknown; Local time: unknown; Location: unknown, Vietnam? 

Ichigo walked alone through the charred landsape. Orange flames lit up the darkness of the night, giving the sky a blood red tint. His face was covered in soot, his hands were black, he had a black walking stick and belts of ammunition draped all over his body that jingled as he slowly trudged across the blackened wasteland.

_Walking stick?_

He looked at the long black object, the flames illuminated the walking stick for what it really was.

_My M-60_

He shouldered the weapon as the ammunition jingled.

_Where am I? Why am I here?_

Something brushed against his leg. He looked down and saw. . .

_An arm?. . ._

The appendage was attached to the body of a man. Torn and tattered pants partially covered the bloody stumps of what used to be legs. The man was crawling, his entire body covered with blotches of soot and blood. He looked up from the ground, his blonde hair was messy and the left part of his face was torn open.

_Help. . . me. . ._ the man murmured.

Ichigo backed away but tripped over something. His back hit the ground. He looked up from the ground and saw a bald head with a mutilated face. He stood up quickly.

_Help. . . me. . ._

The one armed figure stood up and reached its remaining arm out to Ichigo as the first figure crawled toward him.

_Help. . . me. . ._

Another figure limped over to stand beside the other two. This one had tattered blonde hair, the upper part of his face was shadowed by his boonie hat. Small streams of blood trickled down from his mouth. His chest was filled with bulletholes which looked fresh.

_Help. . . me. . ._

Two more figures approached, one of them was missing half his skull and the other had bamboo stakes sticking out of his chest.

_Help. . . us. . . _They murmured

Ichigo turned around and ran right into a bamboo "pickett fence". He examined the fence closer and saw that it was attached to another person. The person staggered over to him. The brown haired figure's blood soaked face looked up at him.

_Help. . . me. . ._ _please. . ._

Ichigo turned and ran, but everywhere he went there were more people, some missing limbs, others with bulletholes, others with gashes, but everyone seemed to be missing all or part of their face. They all murmured. . .

_Help. . . me. . ._

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked.

_We are the lost. . ._

_We are the fathers. . ._

_The brothers. . ._

_The nephews. . ._

_The husbands. . ._

_The sons. . ._

_We are. . ._

_Cursed to wander. . . Never to return. . . Never to find peace. . ._

Ichigo was soon surrounded. He pulled the trigger on his M-60. The weapon fired round after round into the approaching figures. They seemed to ignore the bullets as they tore through their flesh. They crawled, limped, and staggered toward him slowly. Ichigo ran out of ammo as the figures came within inches of him.

_If you will not help us. . . _

_Then. . ._

Countless arms grabbed onto Ichigo, Ichigo tried to break free, but there were just too many.

_You. . . will. . ._

The figures began dragging him towards the jungle.

_Join. . . us. . ._

The jungle's dark embrace enveloped Ichigo. . .

_-------------------_

March 30, 1969; 0909 local time; Honolulu, Hawaii

Ichigo woke up to with a throbbing pain in his head. He sat up on his bed and groggily looked around. The morning sun shone into the building through the gap in the curtains. The celing fan spun round and round slowly. Next to the bed was a table, on the table were two empty bottles of scotch, and an empty shotglass. Ichigo stretched and stood up. His physique; shaped by intense training, brutal combat, and a steady diet of questionable food was one that suggested he had seen better days. Ichigo stood up and stretched before staggering over to the window and peering through the curtans. He closed his eyes almost immidiately after, the morning sun coming off the nearby ocean intensifying the pounding headache. He slowly made his way to the bathroom and knelt down before the white throne. He put his arms on the toilet seat and proceeded to empty the contents of his stomach into the bowl. After offering the contents of his stomach to the porcelan gods, Ichigo dropped his grey boxer shorts and got into the shower. He turned the faucet on and let the cold water flow down his back as he tried to wash away his massive hangover.

Ichigo, Renji, Kiyone and Ishida had been given two weeks R and R in Hawaii. Ichigo felt awkward going, but it was nice to be able to sleep in a real bed without worrying about mortar attacks, rocket fire, or snipers. He had celebrated coming back to America by himself the night before, with two bottles of scotch that he had bought using a fake ID. Now he was paying for it. . . with interest.

Ichigo finished his shower and dried himself off before getting dressed. He put on a pair of grey boxers and a pair of blue jeans before putting on a green t-shirt. He walked down the stairs of the hotel and out the door into the streets of Honolulu.

---------------

April 1, 1969; 1204 local time; Honolulu, Hawaii

The church was almost empty, there were only a few people in the pews. Some of them were the bride's family and others were fellow soldiers looking for a free meal. Two soldiers in blue army dress uniforms and garrison caps stood at the altar. The priest and groom stood between the soldiers. The groom was very nervous, his glasses were constantly needing to be pushed up. The organist started playing the wedding march and the bride walked down the aisle towards the altar. The strawberry blonde carried a traditional boquet and a hibiscus flower behind her right ear. She wore a traditional white wedding dress with a thin veil covering her face. She reached the altar and stood beside the groom.

The priest cleared his throat and began. "Dearly beloved. . ."

The wedding was short and the reception was shorter, but the deed was done. Ishida and Kiyone were married. Ichigo had never seen two people who were so happy together, except maybe his parents.

Bells rang out as the newlyweds emerged from the wedding chapel. Ishida carried Kiyone bridal style in his arms down the steps of the church and into the waiting car. Ichigo and Renji smiled as they watched the car drive away, dragging white streamers and cans behind it.

That night the four of them celebrated at the honeymoon suite of the hotel. They stayed up and talked about anything, from childhood experiences to Ishida's embarassing sunburn that he recieved the day before. The war seemed distant, which was how Ichigo liked it.

Ichigo and Renji left the suite, saying goodbye and leaving the young couple to their own devices. They parted ways and walked (or in Ichigo's case, staggered like a drunken sailor) to their respective rooms. Ichigo couldn't help but be a little depressed, he saw how happy Kiyone made Ishida. To tell the truth, he felt a little jealous. He hoped that some day, he would be able to experience that kind of happiness. As he fumbled to unlock they door to his room, his thoughts turned back to the war. Even though he brain was thoroughly saturated in alcohol, he couldn't completely block out the quiet voice in his head.

The voice that told him that he would have to go back. . .


	31. The Return

A few words from the author: Thank you to all who read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed it.

Warning: This chapter is not in flashback sequence, read the dates carefully.

FIGHT COMMUNISM: REVIEW MY FIC! (just kidding, but remember... In Soviet Russia, fanfiction reviews YOU!)

Enjoy

* * *

May 5, **1982**; 1909 local time; Vo Nguyen Giap(1) bridge (formerly Do Long) 

Ichigo and Rukia sat in the middle of the sampan as the pilot steered the small boat. The small gasoline engine puttered loudly as they approached the shore. Do Long had changed alot since he had been there. The "asshole of the world" was no longer a muddy hole marked by brutal fighting, it was now a small shanty town. The evening sun slowly set as the sampan puttered over to the dock

The pilot tied up the boat and Ichigo helped Rukia onto the dock. Ichigo took out their belongings. This trip was not a simple vacation, Ichigo came back to fulfill a promise he had made more than a decade beforehand. He brought his wife along to help translate and for emotional support. He had an entrenching tool and six bodybags in a special duffel. Their clothes, tent, and other assorted gear were packed in two other backpacks.

Ichigo was amazed by how much everything had changed while he was away. He told Rukia all about his experiences while he was on the river, pointing out areas of significance or interest as they came. Ichigo entered the local tavern and sat down with his wife at the bar. The customers and the barmaid gave him a suspicious look, which Ichigo ignored. The barmaid went over to the owner of the bar who was sitting down talking to another customer. The owner came over and, in broken english, asked if he needed anything.

Ichigo spoke through Rukia and told the barman that they needed a place to stay for the night and a guide. Ichigo pulled out an old, yellowed map and showed the man a point marked with a small circle. The man looked at the circle before speaking to Rukia.

"He asks why you want to go over there." Rukia said. "There's nothing there but an old busted helicopter."

"Tell him I was on that helicopter when it went down, and so were six of my friends." Ichigo responded. Rukia spoke to the man, he looked a little perplexed and asked her a question. An understanding expression came over his face as he heard the response.

"He says that he has a couple of extra hammocks in the back room if we don't mind sleeping there, it would be about five hundred dong(2). He also has a nephew who can take us to the crash site for another thousand."

"Tell him thank you, and tell him to tell his nephew we will be waiting at the dock tomorrow at six o'clock in the morning."

----------------------

Date: unknown; Local time: unknown; Location: unknown

_Darkness. . ._

_Fire. . ._

The burning jungle lit up the sky. A lone Huey flew high above the flames.

Ichigo looked out the side of the helicopter, the aroma of napalm wafting up to his nostrils.

The helicopter suddenly started shaking violently, Ichigo held onto the chopper with all his might. . .

His legs fell out. . .

His lower body followed. . .

His right hand slipped. . .

His left hand slipped. . .

He felt himself falling. . .

-----------------------

May 6, 1982; 0008 local time; Vo Nguyen Giap bridge (formerly Do Long)

_Thump!_

"Oof"

Ichigo woke up in a very awkward position. Most of his body was resting on the cold dirt floor of the back room, his left leg was still stuck in the hammock. Ichigo tried to stand up, but his leg in the hammock made him fall on his face. Ichigo silently cursed as he freed his leg from the hammock. Ichigo contemplated getting back in and trying to sleep again when he heard a whimper. Ichigo looked over and saw his wife in a tossing and turning in a rather fitful manner. Ichigo looked around and found a convenient box. He moved the box over to the side of her hammock. He sat on the box and leaned down, holding Rukia in his strong arms. Rukia smiled in her sleep and unconsciously wrapped her arms around him. Ichigo rested his head on the hammock and let the warmth of his wife's embrace lull him back to sleep.

----------------------

May 9, 1982; 0929 local time; East of Cambodia

The crash site was different from what Ichigo remembered. The crashed helicopter was covered in vines and other vegetation. Ichigo pulled out his shovel and tried to remember where the graves were. After several hours of digging, Ichigo's shovel hit something that was definitely NOT dirt.

Ichigo carefully excavated around the thing he hit, digging with his hands in the moist clay dirt. Ichigo held the uncovered object in his hands and stared at it, the object's mud-filled eyes stared back. . .

Ichigo's hands quivered as he put the skull into a bodybag and kept digging. He came across more bones; many of them were intact, except for many of the ribs.

Ichigo put the last pieces of bone into the first bag before writing down the name of the occupant.

_Urahara K._

Ichigo continued digging, another skull. This one was missing a huge portion on the top right. He dug up the rest of the bones before putting a tag onto the second bodybag.

_Kotsubaki S._

------------------

May 9, 1982; 2102 local time; East of Cambodia

Six bodybags were piled in the front of the sampan as it sailed back down the river.

Ichigo and Rukia were underneath the canvas covering while the nephew sat at the end steering the motor, Rukia was laying down with her head in Ichigo's lap. Ichigo leaned over and rested his head against the side of the boat. He was trying to clear his head, digging up bodies of his friends was a traumatic experience.

But bodies weren't the only things that were brought up during this trip. . .

_Memories. . ._

Ichigo covered his eyes with his hand as repressed memories reared their ugly heads.

_Memories of loss. . ._

_Memories of pain. . ._

_Memories of harsh brutality. . ._

_His harsh brutality. . ._

Ichigo sighed and wished he had some alcohol. He had given up casual drinking for a while now, but he felt that this was a time when he deserved it. Rukia stirred in her sleep and brought Ichigo back into reality. Ichigo smiled as he gingerly ran his fingers through her hair. As his fingers caressed his wife's raven locks, Ichigo realized something.

He realized how much he had changed during all these years. . .

He realized how much his wife ment to him. . .

He realized just how fortunate he was that he was given a **second **chance at love. . .

* * *

(1) Vo Nguyen Giap was a famous North Vietnamese general. 

(2)Dong: Vietnamese currency, literally translated "copper"


	32. First Loves and Near Death Experiences

A few words from the author: Thank you to all who read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed it.

FIGHT NAZISM, REVIEW MY FIC (behold, the new beginning of chapter running joke)!!

Warning: surreal dream sequence with blood and gore, "T" rating envelope pushed (and a reference to Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" series).

Enjoy

* * *

January 10, 1970; 2245 local time; Tacoma, Washington state

Ichigo was sitting at the table of his apartment in front of an empty whiskey bottle, an almost empty bottle, and a small shot glass that was laying on its side. Ichigo picked up the bottle and poured the last little bit of amber liquid out into the glass. He picked up the glass and briefly contemplated it before downing the contents. He felt the burn as the alcohol made its way down his throat.

Ichigo picked up the bottle and tried to get every last drop of liquor from the bottle before setting it down on the table again. His inebriated mind drifted, finally settling on the topic of work and how much he hated his job. He hated working in the factory down at the port, but it put food on the table and booze in the cabinet. Now that he had a fake ID, putting booze in the cabinet was just as easy as putting food on the table.

Even though his mind was drenched in alcohol, Ichigo couldn't silence that disturbing voice in his head that kept asking him.

_Is this who I want to be?_

Ichigo didn't know what he wanted to be anymore or where he wanted to go. His father wanted him to be a doctor, but when Ichigo refused to attend med-school, his father kicked him out of the house and disowned him in a fit of rage. He was seventeen when that happened. Cold and alone, Ichigo found himself in an army recruiting office. Ichigo lied about his age and enlisted in the U.S. Army before being shipped off to basic training.

Ichigo briefly thought about calling his father and apologizing, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead he settled for staggering to bed and passing out.

-------------------------

Date: unknown; Local time: unknown; Location: unknown

_Night. . ._

The darkness of night enveloped the area like an inky black shroud.

Ichigo trudged through the thick jungle. He slowly made is way through the dense undergrowth toward a strange orange glow in front of him. His nose picked up the faint scent of smoke. Ichigo broke through the foliage and gazed upon the source of the glow.

_Fire. . ._

Flickering flames from torches lit up the hellish landscape. The scene was filled with death. Bodies in various states of decay hung from the dead trees, others were impaled on pikes, some were hanging from crosses, and other sadistic implements. Ichigo found himself walking among the grotesque forest of corpses.

_What is this place. . . ?_

He continued to make his way deeper into the nightmare landscape, he wanted to turn and run away, but some unknown force was compelling him forward. He soon approached another tree, the bodies hung by chains and dangled from the sparce branches. Ichigo could see the back of a man. The man was wearing a black trench coat with a long collar that went up to his ears.

Ichigo called to him.

The man turned. His eyes were covered by thick black sunglasses. His short black hair was tangled and matted.

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm Death." The man responded.

"The Grim Reaper?"

"Yes"

"Really? Somehow I pictured you differently."

A cloud of black smoke enveloped the man. Out of the cloud stepped a tall figure wearing a black robe. A bleached white skull stared at him. His skeletal hands clutched the long handle of a scythe. The curved blade of the scythe was jagged from use and dried blood stained the cutting edge.

"DID YOU PICTURE ME MORE LIKE THIS?"

Ichigo nodded.

"Why are you here?"

"LOOK AROUND, DO YOU NOT SEE ALL THE DEAD? IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY, YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE SOME OF THEM. . ."

"Why would I recognize some of these bodies?"

As the words left Ichigo's mouth, Death snapped his skeletal fingers and several bodies fell from the nearest tree. The corpses stood up and shambled over to Death's side. The reaper slowly indicated the first man, who had many bullet wounds in his chest.

"NOVEMBER 21ST, 1967; YOUR FIRST KILL."

He indicated five other men, also filled with bullet holes.

"AND I'M SURE YOU REMEMBER JANUARY 30TH 1968. IT TOOK ME A MONTH TO SORT OUT THAT MESS, I HAD TO SPEND A WHOLE WEEK JUST IN HUE(1)."

The robed skeleton went down the line, naming death after death that Ichigo had dealt, finally stopping at the most horrifying of them all.

The torso had so many stab wounds that it was covered with blood, in some places vital organs could be seen between missing ribs, a KA-BAR(2) knife was lodged in his skull.

"MARCH 2ND 1969 . . ."

-------------------------

January 14, 1970; 1204 local time; Downtown Tacoma, Washington State

Heavy rains poured down from the sky as Ichigo got off the bus. He had to ride the bus because his truck broke down and was being repaired. Ichigo would have preferred to stay on until the next stop (which was closer to his apartment), but that particular stop was closed. Ichigo decided to grab a bite to eat at a nearby cafe and wait out the storm before walking half way across town to his apartment. Normally this would not be a remarkable thing, but fate has a way of taking even the most inconsequential events and turning them into something more.

Ichigo sat down at the counter and perused the menu. Seeing nothing he liked, Ichigo simply ordered a cup of coffee.

As he put the mug to his lips, he saw the door to the building open and a girl roughly his age walk in with a backpack. She ordered a sandwich before sitting down one chair away from Ichigo. She opened her backpack and took out a textbook. She opened the book and began leafing through the pages. Ichigo caught a glimpse of the cover "Principals of Human Anatomy". Having nothing better to do he took a moment and glanced at the book. The illustrations reminded him of many things. One of these things was his father, he remembered seeing all kinds of anatomical diagrams at home and at his dad's office. The other, and not nearly as pleasant as the first, was the war. He had seen many of the illustrated body parts splattered against walls, spread all over the jungle floor, blown to pieces or mangled beyond recognition.

"Excuse me, sir? Sir!?"

Ichigo blinked as he jarred himself back into the real world, and looked at the source of the voice. The girl was looking at him with a rather annoyed expression on her face.

"Could you please stop looking at me?"

Ichigo sighed and went back to his coffee. He put the mug to his lips and downed the rest of the lukewarm beverage before deciding that he might as well start walking home. Ichigo pulled up his jacket and set out into the wet city streets. He had gotten about a block or so from the cafe when he saw something he never thought he would ever see.

"I guess she finally realized her dream." Ichigo said to himself.

Across the street was a building, the bottom floor had many large windows that gave Ichigo a good view of the well-lit room. There was a sign in the window, "Arisawa School of Vale Tudo". Ichigo crossed the street and gazed into the room. The room had a hardwood floor with a large blue mat in the center. There were two people in white robes standing opposite each other a young man, and a woman about Ichigo's age. They exchanged bows before assuming combat stances. The man lunged at the girl with his fist raised. The girl ducked and stood back up as the man aimed another blow, she sidestepped his fist and lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

Ichigo was mesmerized by this display, actually he was more interested in the girl than the actual fighting. He hadn't seen her since high school and during that time she had changed. She was still very attractive, her soft cream skin hiding lean muscle. Her shoulder length hair, which could be described as a black with almost the slightest hint of blue tint, followed her as she sparred with an almost acrobatic quality.

Ichigo suppressed a chuckle, she was playing with her opponent. After about five minutes of this, she made a low sweep and took the legs out from under the man. He hit the ground hard before getting back up and lunging at her again. This time she grabbed his arm and threw him to the mat. The man stayed down for a while before getting up, bowing and walking into the changing room. Ichigo opened the door and walked in from the rain. The girl looked up and saw him walk in and take off his coat. He hung the coat on a nearby hook and slowly approached the young woman.

"Tatsuki?" he asked.

"Do I know you?" the girl responded looking somewhat perplexed.

"You don't remember me? Ichigo Kurosaki, Stadium High school, Class of '67?"

"Ichigo?"

"Yeah."

"How have you been, I haven't seen you in years."

"I've been good. So when did this all happen?" Ichigo asked gesturing all around.

"It happened a few months ago." She said. "So, what brings you to my little dojo?"

"Well, I just happened to be in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop in and see how my old sparring partner was doing."

"Doing a little martial arts on the side have we?" She asked, her interest piqued.

"Ummmmmmm. . . you could say that. . ." Ichigo said sheepishly while making a face that would suggest that what he said was only a small portion of the truth.

"So where have you been?" She asked.

"Erm. . . that's probably something that you would be better off not knowing."

"And why not?"

"Well. . . there's really quite a long story. You wouldn't be interested."

"If that's the case, why don't I just beat it out of you?" Tatsuki said, cracking her knuckles and smiling.

"I was actually thinking of discussing things over. . . erm. . . dinner?" Ichigo said while rubbing the back of his neck and smiling nervously.

"Are you trying to ask me out on a date?"

"Only if the answer is yes."

Tatsuki rubbed her chin with her thumb and forefinger before turning to Ichigo and saying. "How about this, we have ourselves a little sparring match. . .

Loser gets to buy me dinner. . ."

* * *

Please note: the author has minimal experience with picking up girls, dating or romance in general. 

(1) Hue: an ancient city in Vietnam that was the scene of some of the most brutal fighting in the entire war. The engagement occurred in the weeks following the Tet offensive.

(2) KA-BAR: A fairly common combat knife issued to soldiers since WWII

Questions? Comments? Good jokes? Drop me a PM


	33. Playing Rough Before Dinner

A few words from the author: Thank you all who read, double thanks for all who review. Loads of thanks to Motoko Aoyama, who beta-read my chapter and helped me make it better.

FIGHT TERRORISM: REVIEW MY FIC (if you don't review, the terrorists have already won. . . he he he)

Enjoy

* * *

January 14, 1970; 1495 local time; Tacoma, Washington

Ichigo stood in front of Tatsuki, both of them dressed in white gi. They exchanged bows before assuming their fighting stances. The two slowly made their way along the edge of the mat, each waiting for an opening.

"Whenever you're ready," Ichigo said.

"What, you scared?" Tatsuki said playfully before lunging at him.

Ichigo ducked and tumbled to the side as Tatsuki aimed a back kick at him. He caught her leg and twisted it. Tatsuki winced, but nevertheless managed to place both hands on the mat and kick him in the jaw with her other leg. The force of the blow sent him reeling onto his back, but Ichigo still sprung back up and aimed a roundhouse kick, intending to take Tatsuki's legs out from under her. She jumped in evasion and leaped at him, hitting him in the chest with full force and knocking the wind out of him, causing him to fall onto the mat. She then pinned his arms to the mat and straddled his waist.

As Ichigo pondered his position, the "Hey. . . somebody want to play" signal went off in the back of his mind and his body responded accordingly.

Ichigo was suddenly very thankful that he was wearing loose-fitting robes as he felt a certain member of his body respond to the nerve impulses from his brain (1). This thankfulness lasted until Tatsuki noticed his "response".

"So, you like it when I play rough, eh?" She said in a tone that contained just a hint of sensuality.

"Erm, where do you want to go for dinner?" Ichigo asked, abruptly changing the subject.

-------------------------

January 14, 1970; 1804 local time; Tacoma, Washington

Knapp's restaurant and lounge was an old part of Tacoma's Proctor district. The restaurant was dimly lit and hushed conversations could be heard wafting through the air. The two of them sat at opposite ends of a small table which had two plates on top of it; the one in front of Ichigo had the remains of a steak while the one in front of Tatsuki had a few uneaten pasta noodles. The candle in the middle flickered as they started talking again.

"So, Ichigo, you promised to tell me what you've been doing. . ."

"Where do you want me to start? From the beginning or two months ago?"

When Tatsuki made no reply, Ichigo decided to ramble on.

"Well, you see, after high school my dad wanted me to go to medical school. You know, to be a doctor like him. I didn't want to, we had a huge argument and he kicked me out." he said, taking a drink from his glass.

"That's terrible." Tatsuki said with a sympathetic look.

"Well, I got a job and I've been living in an apartment ever since."

Tatsuki gave him a skeptical stare before saying, "So where did you get those scars?"

"What scars?"

"I say scars on your chest when you were changing into your gi, I know for a fact that no surgery could make those."

Ichigo sighed before starting over, "I was kicked out for not attending med school, that much is true. Well, I had nowhere else to go and I found myself in an army recruiting office."

"You're kidding, right?"

Ichigo closed his eyes and shook his head. "They sent me to Vietnam and I spent my first three months at some backwater shithole called Boun Ma Thout."

"When was this?"

"The last few months of '67, until February of '68. Then we got transferred to Saigon. We spent three more months there before moving back to Boun Ma Thout where I spent the rest of my tour."

"What did you do when you got back?"

"I got an apartment here in Tacoma and a job at the port. . ." Ichigo exhaled slowly and looked down.

"You don't have to say any more. . ." Tatsuki said, giving him a caring look and putting her hand on his.

"I've gotten this far, I might as well finish it. . ." Ichigo said, turning his hand over and caressing the back of her hand with his thumb. "I found it really hard to get back into the swing of civilian life. . . but the worst part are these damn anti-war hippies. . . the nerve, calling me a baby killer. . . What do they know about war?"

"You didn't kill any babies. . . did you?"

Ichigo went quiet before asking Tatsuki, "Would you believe me if I said no?"

"Why, why would you do such a thing?"

"I didn't. . . Thank God, but I almost did."

"What do you mean by almost, Ichigo?"

Ichigo took another drink from his glass before starting his tale. "It happened during my time in Saigon. We were patrolling the streets when we got ambushed. We lost one man right off the bat, and one of my buddies was wounded in the leg. One of my other buddies, Urahara, and I were in the process of dragging him off when he got shot again, this time in the chest. We got him to safety. . . I tried to patch him up, but he died. . . he died. . . right there in my arms. . ." Ichigo gazed into the flickering candlelight, its small flame reflecting off his unshed tears. "It frustrated me, I just wanted to go out there and blow every one of their heads off. . . We charged into the building where the enemy was and I. . . I went on a rampage. . . I couldn't stop killing. . ."

"Get to the point." Tatsuki said, slightly annoyed.

Ichigo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I had just finished blowing someone's brains out when I saw a woman and her daughter huddled in the corner of a room. At that point, I was so crazy from the fighting that I tried to shoot them. . . but I was out of bullets. . . so I pulled my knife. . . I would have killed them both if it wasn't for Chad. . ."

"Who's he?"

"He was part of my squad, he was a pretty quiet guy, kept to himself mostly. But man, he was strong as an ox and was always looking out for everyone else. . . Saved my ass more than once. . . Anyways, he grabbed my arm and stopped me." Ichigo sighed and put his face in his other hand. "If you want to leave now, I won't blame you. . . I mean who would want to sit here and listen to some washed up nobody talk about death?"

"I would, especially if this washed-up nobody was someone I cared about." Tatsuki said.

Ichigo looked into Tatsuki's eyes and gave a grateful smile as a tear rolled down his cheek.

"Thank you" Ichigo murmured as they got up and left.

-------------------------

January 14, 1970; 1938 local time; Tacoma Washington

Tatsuki stood with Ichigo at the door to his apartment, the soft electric lights casting shadows all around.

"Well, I had a great time tonight. I hope we can do it again sometime." Tatsuki said.

"How about next week? Same time, same place?" Ichigo said as he put his arms around her.

Tatsuki put her arms around his shoulders before kissing him. "I'd like that."

The two of them stayed in that position for a little while longer before Tatsuki let go and headed back to her car. Ichigo felt a strange feeling of peace that night. For the first time since high school, he felt loved, he felt wanted, he felt. . .

Happy. . .

* * *

(1) Ichigo was experiencing what those in the medical profession refer to as an "erection", commonly known as a "raging boner". 


	34. Love and Reconciliation

Thank you to all who read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed it. Extra big thank you to Motoko Aoyama again for beta reading. (Sorry it's so short)

FIGHT SURREALISM: REVIEW MY FIC!! (Lucy in the sky with yellow matter custard dripping from an octopus's garden)(1)

Enjoy

* * *

January 26, 1970; 1249 local time; Tacoma Narrows bridge, Washington

The rain poured down as Ichigo drove his truck over the bridge, Tatsuki was sitting next to him. He was going to see his father.

He had not seen him for a long time, not since he was kicked out. Ichigo wanted to settle a few matters and hopefully be forgiven.

They pulled up to the house and exited the vehicle, running up the walkway to the front door. He knocked on the door and Yuzu opened it. . . She screamed and ran back inside, closing the door and locking it.

"Yuzu! What's wrong? It's me, your brother, Ichigo!" He said knocking on the door again.

Isshin opened the door, he said nothing. He just grabbed his son in a tight embrace. Tears flowed liberally from the older man's eyes.

_"My son" _Isshin thought as he cried.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

"We thought. . . you were dead. . ." Isshin said breaking the embrace.

"Who told you that?"

"The government, they said you were MIA(2) somewhere near Cambodia."

"They didn't send you another letter when they found me?"

"No, they didn't." Isshin said as he led the Ichigo and Tasuki inside.

They all sat down at the kitchen table.

"Tatsuki, it's good to see you again." Isshin said. "Could you please excuse us for a second?"

Tatsuki smiled and nodded, it was nice to see that Isshin wasn't mad at Ichigo. The two men stood up and left the room. Isshin led Ichigo into his room.

"Why did you do it?" Isshin asked.

"I. . . I don't know. . ." Ichigo admitted.

"I know you were too young to remember what happened when I got home from Korea, but still." Isshin said, a caring look on his face.

"It's almost a tradition. . ." Ichigo noted grimly. "Gramps in the 442nd, you in Korea, me in Vietnam."

"I have something for you, Grandfather gave it to me when I came back from Korea. . ." Isshin dug in the back of his closet before emerging with two books. "They helped me cope, and now I'm giving them to you. . ."

"Thanks dad." Ichigo said smiling and trying not to get too emotional.

"So, when are you and that hot thing in the kitchen going to make me some grand-kids?" Isshin asked with a massive grin on his face as he changed mental gears so fast Ichigo didn't have the opportunity to engage the clutch (3).

Ichigo's jaw dropped and he gave his father a 'You did not just go there' look. Then he smiled and gave the older man a half-hearted punch on the shoulder. "Some things never change; do they, Dad?"

--

February 24, 1970; 1903 local time; Tacoma, Washington State

Ichigo was sitting at his desk, he looked over and saw one of the books his father had given him. The tattered spine read _The Prophet_(4). Ichigo picked it up and looked at the contents. He found the section marked "On Love".

He read through the poems, they somehow reminded him of Tatsuki. How their relationship was not always easy. The years they were apart after High school. One passage stood out to him in particular.

_Love gives not but itself and takes_

_naught but from itself._

_Love possesses not nor would it be_

_possessed;_

_For love is sufficient unto love._

--

June 12, 1970; 2105 local time; Owens Beach, Washington State

The moonlight reflected off the calm waters as Ichigo and Tatsuki sat on the ledge above the beach. The gentle waves of the high tide made quiet splashes against the pebbles of the beach They had been together now for several months now and in that time they had grown very close. Marriage was referenced in their conversations. He talked it over with Isshin, who was very excited to say the least and gave Ichigo his blessing.

Ichigo had been working hard and putting in a lot of overtime at the port. Now it was time to take the plunge. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. Inside it was golden ring with a modest diamond on it. He passed the box into Tatsuki's hand.

"What's this?" She asked, pretending to be surprised.

"Open it." Ichigo said.

Tatsuki opened the box and smiled as she saw the small glint of a diamond. "It's about time." She said chuckling.

"Huh?" Ichigo said, slightly surprised.

"I was afraid I'd have to pop the question myself if you didn't propose soon."

Ichigo didn't have time to look confused as Tatsuki pressed her lips onto his for a lingering kiss. As their lips locked and tongues started to touch, Ichigo couldn't help but remember the first time that they tried to French kiss in high school. They both kept cracking up at their clumsy efforts (4). Now they were both at least somewhat competent, and it was actually very pleasurable.

As they broke the kiss, Ichigo asked. "Would you really have proposed to me?"

"You bet." Tatsuki said, knocking him down onto the grass for another, more passionate kiss.

* * *

(1) A pat on the shoulder to anyone who knows what songs I'm referencing

(2) MIA: Missing In Action

(3) If you ever drove a car with a manual transmission, you will understand the analogy.

(4) _The Prophet _is a book by Kahlil Girban. It features poetry on various parts of life from love to laws. The author heartily recommends this book but must warn the athiesits out there, it does have some Christian themes.

(5) This actually happened to the author. The author is not proud of it, but it was pretty good for his first try.


	35. One in the Chamber

A few words from the author: Thank you to all who read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed it. (I am aware that it is not very long, and that it is very sudden, but I wanted to speed it up a little)

FIGHT PESSIMISM, REVIEW MY FIC (it's not like you actually read these things T.T)!!

Warning: "T" rating envelope pushed.

Enjoy

* * *

October 4, 1970; 1901 local time; Apartment 342, Tacoma

_She's gone. . ._

Ichigo sat at the table of the apartment that he and his wife shared. Two empty liquor bottles lay on their sides, a shotglass and a half-empty bottle lay in front of him. To his right lay his pistol. His head was in his hands as he sobbed uncontrolably. One word rang over and over again in his alcohol-saturated brain.

_Why. . . Why. . ._

--

October 4, 1970; 1136 local time; ASARCO smelting plant, Tacoma

The smelting plant on Commencement Bay was an old part of Tacoma, it's 571 foot tall smokestack dominaing the landscape since 1917. Ichigo started his new job there at one of warehouses as a forklift operator shortly after getting married. The income was steady and the hours were less of a problem.

On this particular day Ichigo was sitting in the lunchroom eating a sandwich when he was approached by his supervisor.

"You, Kurosaki?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"There's a man on the line for you, says he's your father."

Ichigo looked slightly confused. "Where'd he call from?"

"The hospital. Said something about a car wreck."

Ichigo's expression changed to one of horror. He stood up and ran towards the manager's office.

"Dad, what's going on?!" Ichigo asked frantically.

"It's Tatsuki, she. . . she. . ." Ichigo hung up the phone as the supervisor walked in.

"What was that all about?"

"Something happened to my wife. I need to leave, get Rodney to cover my shift." Ichigo said as he sprinted out the door.

--

1939 local time; Apartment 342

Three empty liquor bottles now lay on the table. Ichigo sat there, staring at his pistol. His pistol, one of the relics from his time in Vietnam. It had been his companion when he left basic training, it had been by his side during the horrible night of Tet 1968, it saved his life on many occasions when he was in Saigon, it helped keep his friends alive when they were shot down near Cambodia. It was a loyal companion, and the only friend he could trust to do this job. . .

He picked up the weapon and ejected the magazine. . .

"Colt, M1911a1. . . Single-action semi-automatic pistol. . ." He murmured, repeating what he learned in the army. "Cartridge, .45 ACP. . . Magazine capacity. . . seven in the mag. . . one in the chamber. . ."

_One in the chamber. . ._

--

October 4, 1970; 1154 local time; Tacoma General Hospital

Ichgo parked his truck and dashed frantically into the building. He reached the receptionist short of breath. "I (huff). . . I need to speak (pant). . . with Dr. Kurosaki (gasp). . . Where is he?"

"What is your business with the doctor?"

"He called me (pant) not a half an hour ago (huff) about my (wheeze) wife."

"Oh dear. . ." The woman said looking slightly worried before, motioning to a nurse.

"Take him to the ICU." She said, the nurse nodded and motioned for Ichigo to follow her.

--

2005 local time; Apartment 342

Ichigo took a look at the magazine in his hand. Holding it up to his face, he began taking the bullets out and placing them on the table. Finishing this task, he put the magazine back into the weapon.

_Now for the most importaint decision. . . Where?_

--

Intensive care unit, Tacoma General Hospital

Ichigo followed the nurse through the white halls, not bothering to look a the other patients. Finally he came to his father who was sitting outside the door with his head in his hands. Two bloody gloves sat next to him on the table.

"Dad, what happened?"

"I'm sorry. . ."

"No. . . no. . ." Ichigo said, a look of horror coming across his face as he ran into the room.

--

2019 local time; Apartment 342

_I could go through the heart, that would do the job. . ._

Ichigo shook his head, recalling from past experience.

_Too painful. . . Won't work fast enough. . ._

_--_

Intensive care unit, Tacoma General Hospital

Ichigo stood at the door, frozen in his tracks. In the middle of the room was a gurney with a body on it, a blood stained sheet covered the body as a young intern prepared to take it to the morgue.

"Wait!" Ichigo shouted to the man. "Who is that?"

"The doctor said her name was, umm. . . Tats. . . Tatsuki Kurosaki"

Ichigo lifted the sheet slightly and peered under it. He froze, his knees buckled and he fell to the linoleum floor in tears.

"Are you alright sir?" The intern asked, attempting to get Ichigo off the floor. The young man looked at Isshin, who had followed his son in. "Doctor, what's going on."

"That's my son," The doctor said motioning to the man who was sobbing on the floor. He then motioned to the gurney. "That was his wife. . ."

--

2036 local time; Apartment 342

Ichigo looked at the weapon in his hand. Experience and training both taught him a myriad of ways to kill a man. He had been the unfortunate witness or participant in the majority of these ways.

He raised the weapon, putting the muzzle under his jaw, feeling the cold metal on his skin.

_How easy it would be_ he thought, _to just pull the trigger. . ._

_To pull the trigger, to end his life. . ._

_To end this pain. . ._

His finger began to tighten around the trigger. There was a strange resistance. . .

No matter how hard he pulled, the gun would not fire. Frustrated, Ichigo threw the weapon across the room. The handgun flew through the air, hitting a stack of dishes and causing them to break with a resounding crash. Ichigo stood up, took a few wobbly steps before his knees gave, and passed out on the floor.

--

October 5, 1970; 0729 local time; Apartment 342

Ichigo woke up on the linoleum floor of the kitchenette with a throbbingly powerful headache. He stood up slowly, trying to remember what happened. He looked at the table.

_Bottles. . . Bullets? . . . What the hell? . . ._

Ichigo's gaze followed an imaginary line and came to rest on a pile of broken dishes. He walked over to the shattered plates and saw his pistol. He picked up the weapon and ejected the magazine.

_No bullets in the mag. . ._

He moved the slide back, the bullet in the chamber flew out and landed on the ground.

_One in the chamber? _Ichigo thought.

_One in the chamber. . . _The thought jarred loose the memories of the past twenty four hours. _Dear god. . . why. . ._

Ichigo groaned got himself dressed and made his way back to the smelting plant.

--

October 5, 1970; 1219 local time; ASARCO smelting plant

Ichigo sat at the lunch table eating his take-out. An envelope was situated to his right. After finishing his meal, Ichigo threw his box and dishes away before picking up the envelope.

Ichigo made his way to his manager's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in" A voice on the other side said. Ichigo entered the man's office; ignoring the various pictures, awards, and other trappings located around the room. A bald man, roughly thirty years old looked up from his paperwork, "Hey. . . umm, what's your name again?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki." The strawberry blonde responded.

"Oh, right, the new kid. What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to give you this." Ichigo said, putting the envelope on the desk.

"What is it?" The manager asked.

"My two weeks notice."

"You're quitting already?"

"Something came up yesterday." Ichigo said in a rather somber tone.

"That's too bad, you where doing pretty good job. You sure I couldn't persuade you to stay?"

Ichigo shook his head slowly.

"You sure you don't want to talk about it?" The manager said, making one last request.

"I guess you are entitled to the facts." Ichigo said before adopting a stoic demeanor. "Yesturday afternoon, there was an accident concerning my wife. She is now dead."

The man's eyes grew in shock before he nodded. "I'm sorry" he said as he picked up the envelope. He dismissed Ichigo and went back to his paperwork. 'Poor kid' he thought.


End file.
